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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27971360">Courting Dean</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spn_kink_sock/pseuds/Spn_kink_sock'>Spn_kink_sock</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Supernatural</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alpha Castiel (Supernatural), Alpha Castiel/Omega Dean Winchester, Alpha Sam Winchester, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Boypussy, Condoms, Feminized Dean Winchester, Implied/Referenced Underage Sex, John Winchester’s A+ parenting, Knotting, Lactation Kink, Lingerie, M/M, Male Lactation, Mildly Dubious Consent, Older Man/Younger Man, Omega Dean Winchester, Porn With Plot, Porn with Feelings, Sugar Daddy, omegas have pussies</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 15:41:02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Underage</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>34,800</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27971360</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spn_kink_sock/pseuds/Spn_kink_sock</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>So, there’s a kernel of a kink meme prompt in here somewhere, basically asking for Dean and Cas in a sugar daddy/sugar baby relationship, but I totally lost track of that and ended up writing this. I mostly just wanted to write a story where Cas buys Dean a lot of jewelry and other nice things. Totally self-indulgent of me. </p><p>In any case, Dean and Sam are a couple of throwaway kids. John’s got himself a new family that Sam can have no part of, because teenage Alphas are dangerous. So until Sam can go away to a boarding school for young Alphas, Dean’s taking care of Sam the best he can on his own. At first John sends them money, but the amount gets smaller and smaller and eventually stops. Dean does what he has to do to survive, including starting a relationship with his neighbor- wealthy loner Castiel who’s happy to buy things for the Winchesters in exchange for Dean’s company and time. </p><p>Or is it strictly a mercenary exchange of sex for money? It isn’t on Castiel’s side.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Castiel/Dean Winchester</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>152</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>810</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. When honey bees go shopping</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>It’s implied that Dean is underage when his relationship with Castiel begins, but is over eighteen during the story. Also, the difference in Alpha/Omega status and level of wealth means that this is a relationship with an inherent power imbalance.</p><p>Also be warned about the lactation kink.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Castiel was in his backyard garden, digging a top dressing of compost over the perennial bed soil, happily noticing how the bees flitted from purple flower to purple flower. He’d picked plants on the basis of if they they would keep the bees happy. They loved the shaggy purple bee balm and the fuzzy borage with its star shaped blue-ish purple flowers. Later in the summer they would swarm around the stonecrop and sunflowers. He looked over at his three large skeps and felt happy they were doing well. </p><p>He was, ostensibly, a bee-keeper, but he’d never had the heart to raid their hives for the precious honey and beeswax. He pulled out and looked at the frames every now and then, but just often enough to be sure they were doing well, not attacked by colony collapse or varroa mites, taking only enough honey for scant, personal use. Mostly, he left them to their pollinating and gathering of nectar and marveled at how beautiful they were. </p><p>A short while later, he felt eyes on him and looked up. It was the beautiful neighbor boy. Dean. An Omega and the only thing Castiel had ever found that was sweeter than honey.</p><p>“Hello, Dean,” he said, smiling and momentarily setting his trowel down. He looked Dean up and down, looked into his eyes and realized he had that hungry look again. John Winchester, the Omega’s Alpha father, was not a decent father. Castiel’s own home was as small as the Winchester’s, just a cottage really, but at least it was in good shape. Dean’s home was decidedly more shack than cottage and often as not, there wouldn’t even be adequate food or clothes for Dean and his brother while the Winchesters’ father was hardly ever to be seen. Dean had mentioned something about the man living in another state, even though Dean was just a few months over eighteen.</p><p>“Hey Cas, how’re your bees doing?”</p><p>Dean knew of the bee hives and how tenderly Castiel took care of them, his fondness for his apiaries. Castiel smiled at Dean, pleased. “The borage is in bloom, so they’re busy and happy.”</p><p>If only Dean would let Castiel take care of him like an Omega should be cared for, without subterfuge on Castiel’s part. But Dean was proud and stubborn. He would only accept the things that should be his due- taken for granted, if there was some exchange, a payment of sorts from Dean. He wouldn’t have come over without being asked like this if he weren’t in need. It had been some weeks since he had. Dean’s cheeks were a little hollower. He smelled a little more desperate than he normally did. </p><p>“I wonder, Dean, would you like to go out on one off our dates tonight?” Castiel asked, he hoped, smoothly enough. He knew he could be awkward and too eager. “It’s been several weeks since I’ve seen you and I would enjoy your company quite a lot. The usual arrangement?”</p><p>The usual arrangement meant that they would go out to eat at a restaurant of Dean’s choice, usually in a town in the next county over, far enough away that people wouldn’t know them. They’d eat, then Castiel would drive them to a secluded spot. He had a van converted to a small camper, so things weren’t too uncomfortable. Then, things would happen. Only after would Dean allow himself to be taken out shopping. They’d buy enough groceries for a few weeks and then, sometimes Dean would allow himself to be taken to a mall and they would buy clothes, shoes, even books. The clothes and shoes were mostly sized for the younger Winchester brother, Sam, an Alpha and hot-headed, as Alphas that age tended to be. Only rarely did Dean permit the buying of something for himself. Hardly ever anything pretty, with the exception of a few pairs of panties. Mostly only ever practical things. </p><p>Castiel had a whole drawer of jewelry that he couldn’t help buying for Dean, but that had never been given or had been given but not accepted. The drawer was full of both the traditional courting gifts as well as whatever beautiful bobbles he had seen that reminded him of Dean. Castiel couldn’t help himself. It was how his Alpha nature expressed itself- in providing for an Omega. Not that Castiel didn’t enjoy their post dinner activities, but he would have been just as happy to go right from dinner to shopping.</p><p>Dean’s mouth jerked up in a brief, shining grin. He seemed to be looking forward to their date. “Yeah, why not? When do you want to go?”</p><p>“Any time. Now is good for me. I’m just about done here,” Castiel said, standing up from his flower bed. </p><p>“I’ll be a minute. I gotta let Sammy know I’ll be out. You know how worried he gets.”</p><p>“I’ll drive my van if that’s okay with you.”</p><p>Dean grinned again, understanding the implied arrangement. “Sure thing, Daddy.”</p><p>It only happened rarely that Dean called him that. Castiel’s cock stirred a little at the thought. Technically, that was their arrangement. Dean was a sugar baby and Castiel was his sugar daddy. Castiel wanted more, so much more from Dean but he would take what he could get, what Dean was willing to give and that was this. </p><p>“Could I take you shopping before dinner?” He asked. “I’d love to buy you something nice to wear out tonight.”</p><p>Dean’s clothes were grubby at the best of times and today’s outfit was particularly rough, with a hole in the knee of the jeans and some unsavory looking brown stains. More to the point, they were Alpha clothing, with the look of something that had been worn and passed down. More like worn out first, then passed down. They were about three or four sizes too big, belted until they pleated and the cuffs rolled up. He could see Dean struggling with the question and he willed the young Omega to say yes, to accept the gift. </p><p>“You want to take me someplace nicer than that barbecue shack on County Line Road or something?” Dean asked.</p><p>“I would like that quite a lot,” Castiel said. “But we could do barbecue if you prefer.”</p><p>“Yeah, ok. Pick a place. I’ll be back in ten,” Dean said and disappeared through the gap in the hedge that separated Castiel’s lot from the Winchesters’.</p><p>Castiel gathered up his gardening tools and rolled the wheelbarrow back into the shed. He sniffed discretely at his armpits and wondered if he should suggest they both shower together before going out. They’d done this once before and it had been...enlightening and complicated. He decided that he hadn’t sweated that much and would rather smell of Alpha than soap and shampoo. He went inside to change and wash his hands. He picked his habitual suit. It had been a few years since he retired and he didn’t have to wear a suit ever, but he found he couldn’t quite give the habit up. Besides, he had spent rather a lot of money on the suits a while back and wanted to get his wear out of them. Perhaps they were not the most stylish suits, but they had been bespoke and fit him perfectly still.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. We Need Him</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Sammy, as you could have predicted, was angry. He’d shoved Dean against the wall and said, “I’m not letting you whore yourself out to that Alpha. He’s using you.”</p><p>“No, Sammy, I’m using him,” Dean said, feeling queasy with hunger. He’d been trying to put off going to Cas for a couple weeks and hadn’t had anything but water for a few days. “Anyway, look around. Do you see any other way we’re going to get food for you to eat tomorrow? You had the last box of Mac for lunch. What else am I supposed to do?”</p><p>“Dad will...”</p><p>“No, he won’t. I don’t know when the next check is coming,” Dean said. If it came at all. It hadn’t come for several months. Dad had a new family now. He’d met and won over a pretty Beta woman and started a family with her complete with a new baby Beta brother. A family that couldn’t include Sam and Dean. Couldn’t include Sam because no Beta woman would have a teenage Alpha stepson in the house with her Beta boy. It was just too dangerous.  Dean, by extension, because the family couldn’t include Sam. No way would Dean let Dad ship Sam off to one of those pre-military academies for unwanted Alpha kids. An older Omega like Dean would have been okay but only as unpaid nanny to the stepmom’s children. Dean had put his foot down at that. He was already raising some Beta woman’s child. </p><p>So, Sam and Dean stayed and Dad left for Minnesota without them. Dad promised that he would keep paying the rent on their house and that he would send money every month for everything else, but the checks got smaller and smaller and less and less frequent. Then they stopped when Dean had turned eighteen. Dad hadn’t paid the rent on their little shack since then either. The second late notice had arrived in the mail yesterday. It wasn’t an eviction yet, but it threatened it. </p><p>For now though, he had to get Sam ready to spend the evening by himself so he could go out and earn them another few weeks of food and new shoes for Sam. He’d let Castiel buy him something nice too, but not too nice. Maybe he could get something he could sell for enough cash to pay part of the rent. </p><p>“I have to go now, Sammy. You know the drill.</p><p>“Don’t answer the phone, don’t answer the door, don’t go outside. Yadda yadda.”</p><p>Actually, Dean wondered how much they needed to worry about that kind of stuff any more. No one seemed to notice or object to them living alone in their shack out in the country. Once he’d turned eighteen, Sam’s school accepted him as the defacto guardian of his younger brother. They were two throw aways. Not even their own father wanted them. All Sammy had going for him was his big brain. All Dean had on offer was his pussy and a pair of tits that were admittedly pretty great. </p><p>“Can I have some milk before you go?” Sammy asked. “I’m so hungry.”</p><p>He didn’t allow Sam to nurse anymore, finally weaned him for good a couple of months ago, but that didn’t stop Sam from asking. It broke his heart to say no every time. The milk was meant for your siblings, that was why Omegas had it, so they could help with the younger kids. Dean had been making milk for Sam for about as long as he could remember, until recently. It wasn’t unheard of for Omega kids to start lactating long before puberty if there was a family need for it. </p><p>Almost everyone’s oldest child was an Omega for that reason, but at some point it had to stop with the Alpha siblings. They got confused and lines could get crossed too easily. You had to wean the Alpha sibs by twelve at the latest, they said. Dean had made a mistake and let the pup go on until he was nearly fourteen. It had seemed harmless enough at the time. Hopefully, it was harmless. The thing was, adult Alphas liked it too and not in a ‘just siblings’ kind of way. If you let an Alpha pup go on too long, he got to like it not like younger sibs did, but like an Alpha liked it.</p><p>“You can’t, kiddo. You know why.”</p><p>“I hate you! I hate him!” Sam snarled.</p><p>“No you don’t. You love me and you know it, baby brother,” Dean said, with his biggest grin. “I gotta go. He’s waiting. I’ll come home with groceries before midnight. I promise.”</p><p>He thought about asking Castiel if they could go grocery shopping before hand this time then drop stuff off for Sam. He’d put out later. He’d be good for it. But no, that wasn’t how this arrangement worked. Dean ran to the bathroom to pull a comb through his hair. He thought maybe he might shower quickly, but decided against it. Castiel seemed to enjoy the scent of Dean, burying his nose in Dean’s armpits and inhaling deeply, as if Dean were some kind of flower. He settled for a fresh set of clothes, his newest, best pair of jeans and some tops that weren’t too dirty, smelled a little funky maybe but didn’t have visible stains on them. He shoved pads in his bra to soak up the milk that had dribbled out lightly whenever he got too close to Castiel. Finally he was out the door and running over to Castiel’s, to see that the man wore one of his suits again. </p><p>Not that the dude didn’t look good in it. Very good. It sat on his shoulders just so, like it was made for him. He wore it with a gray and black striped tie that was classic and understated. The whole get-up reminded Dean of why he didn’t actually mind his arrangement with Cas that much. Dude was hot, despite being a little weird and kind of like a hermit, living out here in the country with the bees. </p><p>But Dean hated to see the suit because it meant that Cas wanted to take him out someplace nice. Dean was just happy to get any food. A greasy spoon or barbecue shack would have been fine. Instead, Cas probably wanted to go to that little bistro he liked about three towns over, close to the big city, where they got all stuck up on being farm to table and organic. They used real linen napkins and tablecloths and Dean felt out of place there, like some hick gone to the big city. It wasn’t Dean’s kind of place and though the waitstaff was nice, the other dinners stared at him. Even his nicest clothes weren’t good enough.</p><p>They got in the van, Cas at the driver’s seat. Dean’s stomach rumbled right away, loud and embarrassing. Dean could have died of shame. He wanted to just slink out of the passenger seat and get sucked down into the earth, never to be seen again. </p><p>“You’re hungry,” Cas said. “Look in the hamper I brought for later.”</p><p>Cas liked to pack a picnic for snacking after they had got it on, but before they went out grocery shopping. He hated to go shopping hungry, he had explained. It was usually way too much food for a little snack, but Dean was always  hungry enough most of the time that he dug right in, even though they’d just had a restaurant meal a couple hours ago. Cas liked to use re-usable things, so there were sandwiches wrapped in waxy cloth and stuff to drink, both hot and cold, in those stainless steel bottles. He even had a whole pie in a round tupperware container. </p><p>“Chocolate Honey Cream,” Cas said, as he drove them down the county road. “I thought you would like it.”</p><p>Dean did, but decided maybe something more solid and savory would be better. He tucked into one of the sandwiches. It was ham, the bread was homemade or at least seemed that way. The lettuce and tomatoes were fresh and Dean knew that Cas grew both in his extensive gardens. It was delicious and Dean thought he could get used to eating like that if he let himself. When he’d put himself on the outside of that sandwich in record time, he stopped himself. After a while of not eating, if you bolted too much too quick, you tended to barf it up again pretty quickly and he was not going to ruin Cas’ date that way. Cas smiled at him, as if pleased to see him eat.</p><p>“You seemed to like that,” he said.</p><p>“You’re not wrong.”</p><p>“I thought we might go all the way to Lawrence tonight, if that was okay with you.”</p><p>“Anything you want,” Dean said, even though it seemed a little out of the way and too much. It also meant a late night and that he might not get back to Sam in time for the midnight deadline he promised. </p><p>“I know you prefer to go shopping after we’ve had dinner and relaxed a little, but I thought maybe we could do that first this time? Then go to Lawrence and take our time with a nice evening.”</p><p>“Yeah, that works,” Dean agreed, relieved. He knew that while Sam had had far more food than Dean in the last couple of weeks, it wasn’t really enough for a growing Alpha and a single box of Mac a day didn’t cut it. </p><p>Before long, they were wandering through the Cost-Cutter. Dean had originally picked out just a shopping basket, planning to get only what they could get by on for another week, but Castiel had frowned and gestured towards the big shopping cart. Then, when Dean pushed it into the store, Cas had stood close by, touching Dean’s hand and helping put things in the cart, as if they were some kind of real couple, doing the shopping for their family. At Castiel’s insistence, they got not just the boxed and canned kind of food, but like, real meat and fresh fruit. Actual blocks of cheese. Loads of boxed and jarred and frozen stuff too, like spaghetti and sauce, peanut butter and jelly. Multiple loaves of bread. A couple of gallons of cow milk. They even got some fresh meals that Sam could reheat and have right away. The whole cart was loaded up to the brim before Cas was satisfied and would let them head up to the register.</p><p>“This is too much,” Dean protested. </p><p>“Let’s just say that my particular kink is seeing that my babe is well taken care of in all ways,” Cas said, lifting Dean’s chin up and pressing a light kiss to Dean’s mouth. “Are you sure there’s nothing else you need or want?”</p><p>“We’re good,” Dean said. “I don’t think even Sammy’s gonna be able to eat up all of this.”  </p><p>They drove back to the country road shared by Dean’s and Cas’ house and pulled up to the Dean’s house. Dean didn’t miss the look on Castiel’s face at the place. It was still standing, but that was about all that could be said for it. Since the last time Cas had been by this way, Dean had added a blue tarp to the roof because the leaking had got that bad but Dean didn’t want to bring them to the landlord’s mind, since Dad had stopped paying rent. He did what he could on his own to keep them safe and dry. Cas looked like he wanted to say something but he didn’t. He just got out and grabbed bags to carry into the kitchen. </p><p>“You’re back!” </p><p>Sam threw himself into Dean’s arms. The pup was only fourteen and he really shouldn’t have be left alone like this, but Dean had to do what he had to do. At least he brought home a lot of food. At least Sammy could be fed. It would have to be enough. </p><p>Then Sam noticed Castiel entering behind Dean and the pup’s hackles rose instantly. He had grown into that stage not long ago. The wolf inside, buried pretty deep in most people, could come out involuntarily in teenage Alphas that didn’t have it under control yet. Not that anyone ever went full werewolf these days. Sam’s eyes flashed, as if almost flaring to red. His incisors dropped, became pointed, dangerous. He growled, deep and throaty. Well, as deep as a fourteen year old twerp could. Dean held tight to him, so the kid wouldn’t do anything that all of them would regret.</p><p>A fully grown Alpha like Cas could wolf out at will. Or, like Cas, not at all. At least Dean had never seen Cas wolf out. He did not respond to Sammy’s juvenile challenge at all, just set down the grocery bags he’d been carrying and said, “I’d better not come in. I’ll get the other bags from the car and leave them on the porch.”</p><p>Sammy struggled in Dean’s arms but thankfully a eighteen year old Omega was still bigger and stronger than a fourteen year old derp of an Alpha for now. Probably not for much longer. He willed the pup to calm down, hoped that his scent glands were in good enough shape to pump out enough of the Omega calming scent. He’d always been scent-blind to his own odor, like most people, and he knew that not enough calories could shut them down mostly. </p><p>“You have to back down, Sammy,” Dean said. “You can’t attack Cas. We need him.”</p><p>“I don’t want him around you. You’re mine, my Dean,” Sammy snapped. The pup was normally a brainiac but something about being a near presenting young Alpha just caused the intellect to fly out the window at times, especially when he was riled up and wolfing out like this. He was like a two year old throwing a tantrum, honestly. For a moment Dean wondered if he was going to have to send Cas home with blue balls but slowly, Sammy’s canines shortened, then slid back into hiding. His hackles lowered, his eyes dimmed to their ordinary hazel green. He softened and then was a normal bratty kid again.</p><p>“There’s no need for you to be jealous,” Dean said, soothingly. “What me and you are to each other, Cas can’t ever have. You’ll always be my baby brother and there’s no one in this whole world I would put in front of you. But you gotta understand Sammy, what me and Cas have, you and me can’t have, because you’re my baby brother.  You know I can’t be your Omega, right? Because we’re brothers.”</p><p>“I know!” Sammy snarled. “I’m not stupid or weird. I’m not gross. I don’t mean it that way.”</p><p>“I know you don’t, kiddo,” Dean said, even though he kind of thought maybe Sammy did mean it that way subconsciously. Wires got crossed with young Alphas all the time and it wasn’t unheard of for an Alpha brother to take what wasn’t and never should be his. The results were tragic, especially for the Omega. Dean smiled at Sam and let him go, turned to the grocery bags and started unpacking them. “Now, you’ll be fine, right? We got lots of good stuff for you. Food. Food ready to eat now. And...”</p><p>Dean knew Sammy’s weakness. He pulled out several books from one of the bags. Big, thick books. Just paperbacks from the grocery store’s small selection, but Sam was such a voracious reader, he would devour anything with words. </p><p>“You can’t bribe me,” Sammy said, even as he was reaching for the thick Stephen King novel. </p><p>Dean sighed as Sammy retreated to the other side of the cabin with his new novel, one of the pre-packaged meals and a whole gallon of milk. He’d be okay. A lot of kids got jealous and possessive of their older Omega siblings. It was normal for certain switches in the brain to get crossed at this stage of development and they almost always got uncrossed before the young Alpha was big enough, strong enough and potent enough to do anything about it. </p><p>Dean just had to figure out how to get Sam settled safely before then.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Denied</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I’ve decided I’m updating on Fridays until this is done. Remember, your kudos and comments keep us writers writing.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Dean was finally done with putting groceries away and they could get back in the van and head out to their date. Castiel hadn’t wanted to enter their house. Sam had calmed down from him initial flare but Castiel chose not to risk it flaring up again. He remembered being so young and hormonal, ready to snap at any offense. That was why young Alphas were sent off away from home, to the various kinds of high schools, so they could learn control safely. He had been- first to the pre-military academy, then to a specialized training school before he was assigned to the Garrison’s special forces. He had only been able to get away to civilian college at twenty-eight. </p><p>“You know, I never asked what you do for a living,” Dean said. “And you never talk about it.”</p><p>Castiel had been a number of things in his life- a soldier and killer, a student, a businessman. He’d been very lucky and he’d been fortunate with family connections. None of that seemed like what he was, his true self. In some ways, it was like he hadn’t come to life until that day that Dean Winchester walked up his driveway, looking for yard work. He thought about how battered his heart had been until that day, how empty his life had been. He’d wanted retirement, of course, but it had been stale, meaningless, until the day he met Dean.</p><p>“Oh, yes. I’m retired,” Castiel said. “I don’t work. I have the garden and the bees, of course.”</p><p>“Retired? Don’t you have to be old to be retired? Like ancient? I mean, I know you’re a lot older than me, but you’re not old.”</p><p>“No, I started a company and some years later, I got an offer to buy it. When I sold out, I quit my work. I had never been happy with what I did to earn money. The garden and the bees are better.”</p><p>Castiel didn’t want to say much more than that. There were those that called him a failure. Yes, he’d built Novak Solutions from the ground up, starting at thirty-one before he’d even completed his degree, but the people who’d bought it from him for over fifty million less than ten years later had quickly built it into a billion dollar empire that pretty much dominated on-line accounting services. They called him a failure for getting out too soon, for not taking his part of those billions. What they didn’t see was that he didn’t want to manage billions. What he wanted was a little house on the plains with a big garden all around and enough to live comfortably. He had what he wanted and then some. All that was missing was a mate to share it with. </p><p>If only Dean could be convinced to become that mate. </p><p>Dean was perfect- the perfect Omega for Castiel anyway. He smelled perfect, like sweet spice and honey. Not slight or petite like so many Omegas but strong enough to hold onto a raging young Alpha when he was wolfing out and trying to protect what he saw as his against the Alpha he saw as a threat. Dean was enough of an omega to pump out a soothing cloud of calm scent so potent that Castiel still felt relaxed and happy. Content. Even though he wasn’t the Alpha that the calm had been aimed at. Dean was beautiful, with fine facial features and the prettiest green eyes Castiel had ever seen, pure, true garden green, like leaves and all good growing things. Dean didn’t even see how beautiful and wonderful he was. Castiel wanted to give Dean everything but Dean would accept so little. </p><p>They were approaching one of their regular pull offs, a small state park that didn’t officially allow camping, but wasn’t actually staffed most of the time either, so a person could pull a small, unobtrusive camper like his van into one of the empty lots, and expect a certain amount of privacy. It was along a river, so there were thick stands of trees. He’d spent the night alone at the park a few times, simply because he wanted to get up early for a sunrise hike the next morning. </p><p>“Did you want to pull over now?” He asked Dean. “Maybe enjoy the sunset over the river?”</p><p>That was actually a euphemism. He hoped that by the time sunset happened, both of them would be too busy to even notice. Dean understood. He nodded, so Castiel took the turn and they drove past the unattended ranger station into the tree thick park, heading for Castiel’s preferred parking lot. The park seemed to be completely empty, not another car to be found. It really was a hidden gem, this park. He positioned the van so that if they wanted to open the back doors, they would be able to look out over the river to the sunset. They were surrounded by trees other than the view to the river and it was beautiful, no sounds but the wind, the river and a few birds singing their courtship songs. </p><p>“It’s nice out here,” Dean said as they settled onto the bed in the back of the van. Castiel did end up opening the rear doors. The late afternoon was warm approaching hot. “We should go fishing sometime.”</p><p>“I’d like that. Well, you can fish. I wouldn’t know what to do if I caught anything.”</p><p>As Castiel undressed himself, carefully laying his suit and tie aside, Dean pulled off his plaid shirt. Underneath he was wearing another layer, a heavy knit shirt with an undershirt peeking out from the neckline. “Catching anything isn’t even the point.”</p><p>Slowly, yet another layer came off, then the third. Dean was wearing only a bra on top. One Castiel recognized. He’d bought it for Dean. Not on any of their shopping trips, but on-line, delivered in a plain package. Castiel had presented it, wrapped in pretty paper, to Dean with a flushed face and a nearly stammered request for Dean to wear it sometime as a surprise. Dean hadn’t yet, but there it was now, the pink satin and lace barely containing Dean’s ripe, milk filled breasts. He was more beautiful in it than in Castiel’s wildly rampant fantasies. Dean’s figure was slim, perhaps too slender, but with generous, round breasts and curved hips, just like an Omega should have. Castiel’s cock filled immediately, rising and taking an interest. </p><p>“You see something that you like?” Dean asked. “You like to see me in the present you bought me?”</p><p>“Fuck, Dean,” Castiel said. “You’re gorgeous.”</p><p>He was, even wearing Alpha style jeans that were too big on him, better than the pair he was wearing earlier, but still worn out and shabby. They’d have to do something about that, Castiel decided.</p><p>“I think those jeans might need to come off,” Castiel said, hooking a finger into Dean’s waistband. Dean grinned and helped Castiel unbutton them and tug them off, revealing the pair of panties that matched the bra. Dean’s tiny cocklet bulged the front of them just a little, not large even when it was hard and straining. The most delicious odor rose from Dean, spiced honey but musk too and fresh slick. Castiel couldn’t stop himself from pressing his lips to the little bulge and kissing it, mouthing Dean’s cocklet through the satin fabric. Dean made a strangled sound and jerked his hips up to meet Castiel’s face. Castiel’s own cock was tight inside his boxers, fighting to be free. </p><p>“Easy, plenty of time,” Castiel said. “No rush. I want to savor you. You smell so delicious today.”</p><p>They rearranged positions, so they were face to face, Castiel’s arms wrapped around Dean’s slighter figure. He pressed his lips to Dean’s, relishing how Dean opened to him, softening under the touch of Castiel’s lips, allowing more, letting Castiel invade with his tongue, breath growing heavier as Castiel placed a hand on Dean’s hip and gently squeezed, fingers drifting to Dean’s ass. It was perfect, not too soft, but yielding still, rounded and generous. His fingers smoothed and stroked over the satin cloth, sneaking a finger under the elastic around the legs. The gusset between Dean’s legs grew damp then outright wet with slick as Castiel insinuated his fingers into the hidden folds of flesh.</p><p>“So beautiful,” he marveled. “So perfect. Darling, can I?”</p><p>“Yes, God, yes,” Dean said, and shimmied up a little so that his chest was at Castiel’s face, the nipples right at mouth level, which wasn’t the question Castiel was asking but a welcome answer nonetheless. Dean’s small but lush breasts were taut, engorged with milk. He sometime wondered what Dean did on the days when they didn’t meet. Surely Sam was too old to be nursing on Dean by a couple of years? He was at an age when most Alphas went away to an academy of some kind, often the pre-military, but there was university prep or pre-vocational. </p><p>In any case, for the moment, Dean’s milk was all his, generously offered and happily accepted. He tugged the cup of Dean’s bra out of the way, freeing the breast from the stretchy pink lace. The nipple stood out high and proud, little pearls of milk just starting to leak. He pressed his lips to it, kissing it before taking it into his mouth and pulling deeply. Dean groaned and grew wetter as milk filled Castiel’s mouth, sweet, nutty and heavenly. </p><p>It there was anything that tasted better than Dean, he didn’t know what it could be. Not even the sweet honey direct from his hives. </p><p>By the time Castiel was done, Dean was desperate for release. So was Castiel, but he was always sure to see that Dean saw satisfaction first. He scooted down, tracing kisses down Dean’s flat belly. Unhappily, he could count Dean’s ribs, but that just convinced him that he needed to be pushier with Dean, get him to accept the gifts of food, dinners out, more often. </p><p>Castiel pulled Dean’s panties off. They were soaked with Dean’s fragrant slick. He tucked them away where Dean would miss them later, hopefully, and he could retrieve them for later enjoyment. Dean’s cocklet was leaking clear drops, his pussy glistening. Castiel licked a stripe over Dean’s labia up to the straining cocklet, only an two inches long, even fully erect. The taste of slick burst over Castiel’s tongue, sweet and tangy. </p><p>“Sit on my face, Sweetheart,” Castiel said, adjusting. Dean groaned but climbed on top, so that he was all but smothering Castiel, who guided him closer yet, hands on Dean’s lean thighs, urging him on as Castiel licked and sucked, starting to feel a little drowned in all the slick, barely able to breathe, but so in love with the sensation of Dean on top of him. Dean rode his mouth hard and was soon shuddering and crying out, hips jerking. Castiel wouldn’t let him go until the last of his climax was done and Dean slumped down bonelessly next to him on the mattress. </p><p>“May I?” Castiel asked. </p><p>“Yeah,” Dean said, weakly, still breathing hard. </p><p>He grabbed the condom that he had placed carefully nearby earlier and opened the package. Leaving room at the tip, he rolled the sheathe carefully down his cock. It wasn’t as wonderful to go in covered as it would have been bare, but Dean had requested he wear them when their arrangement had started, so he respected that request. Castiel would offer mating in an instant should Dean get pregnant, but no doubt the possibility of conception, as thrilling as it would be to him, would be terrifying to Dean. In some ways, even in a desirable mating, pregnancy was a risk that the Omega bore alone, could only bear alone.</p><p>Only after he was properly protected did Castiel take his place between Dean’s thighs and push his aching, rock-hard cock into Dean’s pussy. Even covered in latex, it was beyond wonderful to be enveloped in Dean, tight and hot around his cock, Dean’s arms wrapped around his chest. Dean’s scent intensified as they moved together, spice and sweetness with the smell of his milk mixed in. </p><p>“Go on,” Dean said. “I don’t think I could come again.”</p><p>So Castiel chased his own orgasm, thrusting deep and fast, Dean pushing back against him and the tension building to unbearable and then, even thought he said he couldn’t Dean was coming again with him as his knot expanded, catching on Dean’s insides. The pleasure was whiteout brilliant as he came, but he still had the presence of mind to pull all the way out in time, before he could tie up with Dean, his knot joining them together. God, he wanted to just not pull out. </p><p>His inner Alpha snarled and raged at being denied, but he was well practiced at denial and discipline. If he allowed them to tie up, it rendered the condom a lot less effective. There was no way to stop some of come from seeping around and into Dean. A little bit was all it took, they said. It hiked up the failure rate to over twenty percent, which was not acceptable. Right away, Castiel skinned off the filled condom and tied it off, dropping it into the small trash can he kept nearby and grabbed a small towel, also kept nearby, to cover his cock and absorb the semen that would continue to spurt out for a few minutes yet, even though he wasn’t tied up inside an Omega. Dean buried his face into Castiel’s side and they laid together, holding each other, breathing hard. </p><p>“Fuck, I wish you could just come inside me,” Dean said. “Wish I could have your knot.”</p><p>Castiel didn’t say anything. He wanted it too badly to express. He was struggling with the part of him that was irrationally demanding that he turn Dean onto his chest and force his still hard knot inside the Omega. The demand would weaken in a little while, so he just held Dean and rode it out, willing his cock to soften more quickly. Someday, he thought. Someday I will convince this proud, beautiful Omega to become my mate.</p>
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<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Pregnancy would have been a disaster. Life was hard enough just trying to keep Sammy fed and clothed. Maybe if he were able to find work, if people were willing to hire an Omega. If he had money coming in regularly, he’d risk getting knocked up with Castiel’s baby. He could probably get away with hitting up Castiel more regularly and for more. Hell, the man would probably give him cash if asked, not just food and clothes. But Dean never wanted to push it. He never wanted to find out the limits of the man’s affection and desire for him. </p>
<p>And there would be limits. </p>
<p>There always were. If his own father, who was supposed love him and his brother unconditionally, could mostly abandon them to half starve in a shack in the middle of nowhere, why would a hot, albeit awkward, Alpha like Castiel do more for them than whatever it was his whimsy to provide? Surely, someday, this gravy train would end. If nothing else, there would be a proper mate and children. That was what all Alphas wanted, wasn’t it?</p>
<p>After a long time of silent cuddling, the sky outside faded from blue, to pink and orange, to finally purple and then black with stars. They didn’t really talk and Castiel seemed to fall asleep, but after a while, he stirred. Dean finally asked the question that had been bugging him.</p>
<p>“You ever thought about getting mated?”</p>
<p>“It is something I’ve wished for, for a while now.”</p>
<p>Dean felt a pang at his heart, almost a physical pain, to think of Cas holding some other Omega in his arms, sinking his knot into some other Omega and not just not caring if the Omega got pregnant, but actively trying for it. Still, he couldn’t help poking at it, like you probed a toothache with your tongue. </p>
<p>“Kids too?”</p>
<p>“Yes, but only when and if my mate would want them.”</p>
<p>“You got some special Omega in mind?”</p>
<p>Castiel spoke cautiously, “There is an Omega that I love dearly, but I don’t think he wants to mate me. You know, I think I promised you a shopping trip and dinner. Perhaps we should get a move on.”</p>
<p>“You don’t have to get me anything,” Dean said. “You’ve done a lot already.”</p>
<p>“Yes, but I want to buy my pretty baby lots of pretty things.”</p>
<p>Castiel got out of the camper van’s bed and started getting dressed again, leaving Dean with little choice but to tuck his tits back into the bra. He looked around briefly for his panties and realized that Castiel had hidden them again. He shrugged. Cas had bought them and if he wanted to perv on them, well, Dean helping with that was part of their deal. He pulled his jeans on commando, noticing how Castiel winced at the sight of him in the worn denim and flannel. </p>
<p>“Okay, you can buy me a nice outfit,” Dean said. The jeans had been found in the “Dollar for a whole bag” bin at the thrift store rather than being something Dad left behind, but they weren’t great. It wasn’t as if he had anything else that came close to fitting at the moment, so he buttoned them up and pulled the rest of his layers back on. They spent a little while eating the picnic that Cas had packed earlier and the chocolate honey cream pie was just as heavenly as Dean thought it would be. It was a relief to be well and truly full, cared for and even a little pampered, if only for a little while.</p>
<p>They were soon back on the road to Lawrence, which was, comparatively speaking, the big city. Not exactly bright lights and big city, but it was big enough to have a mall.  As if he could read Dean’s mind, Castiel said, “You know, it’s only another fifty or so miles to Kansas City. We could make a whole night of it. Sam is old enough to to spend the night on his own. We could get a hotel room. I’d like it if you let me treat you to that.”</p>
<p>So Dean found himself calling Sam and explaining. He got a snotty answer but not a demand for Dean to return home, so that was a win, relatively speaking. They drove right past Lawrence and on to the real city. The lights glittered, the whole place seemed crowded, sparkling with activity and life, nothing like the nearly uninhabited stretch of the country where he’d been left behind. They pulled into a valet area right in front of a skyscraper. It was a hotel, from the lit up sign on the front. For a minute, Dean thought that valet attendant was coming up to the van to tell them to move along, but Castiel passed him a folded bill and then the keys, as if he expected nothing different than what they got- the assurance that the vehicle would be parked carefully and retrieved quickly when desired. </p>
<p>Castiel led them right into the lobby of the big hotel, a place filled with brass fixtures, shiny polished stone floors and lots and lots of glass. A crystal chandelier bigger than a car highlighted just how large the open foyer area was. Castiel stepped right up to the desk and when the clerk indicated they could step forward, Cas just walked right up as if it was nothing.</p>
<p>“Is the Milton suite available tonight?” Castiel asked. </p>
<p>“I don’t believe so. It’s generally not available to the public,” the clerk said, with something like a sneer. He was looking right at Dean as he said it and Dean wished he could sink right through the damn marble floors and be buried forever.</p>
<p>Cas didn’t seem to notice though. He just slid a credit card across the desk at the man and asked, “Well, please check if something with similar amenities is available for tonight.”</p>
<p>The man looked at the credit card and his whole attitude did a one-eighty. He typed into the computer for a little bit, did his clerk things and said, with a big, fake smile, “The Milton suite does appear to be available, sir. If you just sign there. Wonderful. Here’s your keycard, the suite is ready for you. Did you have luggage with you?”</p>
<p>“In my car. We’ll bring it up ourselves later,” Cas said, not quite shortly, but as if the clerk had said something nosy. </p>
<p>Dean was stunned silent as he followed Castiel to the elevator lobby, then up to their room, which was right at the top of the public floors of the hotel and must have been pretty close to the top of the building. The suite was cool and dimly lit, with sheer curtains over floor to ceiling windows on two sides. They walked into a living room area with a couch and chairs, a desk that looked like it was set up for someone to plug a laptop in and go to work and a wet bar to the side, complete with one of those little wine refrigerators. Through an open door into the next room, Dean could see a big bed piled high with fluffy white comforters and pillows. Castiel stepped up to the windows and pulled back the curtains a little. The skyline of the city sparkled and glittered, it seemed, lights bright in the velvet darkness.</p>
<p>“It’s been a while since I’ve been to the city,” Cas said. “It is lovely though I do prefer my little cabin and my bees. Nice to take a small break though. Shall we go shopping for you first?”</p>
<p>“You sure you want to go shopping?” Dean asked. “That bed in there looks awfully nice and besides, my tits are getting awfully full again.”</p>
<p>That was how he ended up naked, face pressed against the window glass, Cas taking him from behind, one of his tits in each of Castiel’s hands. Cas milked his tits gently but thoroughly, spraying the milk on the glass, having drunk his fill from each earlier, but Dean’s breasts still had more to be emptied. It was funny how there was hardly any when Cas wasn’t around but the instant he came around, Dean’s milk production went into overdrive. Castiel’s thrusts sped up, became erratic, then he was pulling out, spilling his come over Dean’s back, hot generous stripes of it. Dean couldn’t stop his disappointed cry that he wasn’t getting that come, wasn’t going to get a knot. He knew why he couldn’t, but that didn’t stop his inner Omega from being a little bitch about it.</p>
<p>Or rather, he did get a knot, but a knot of worry, anxiety and sorrow inside of him, centered in the middle of his stomach. He buried his face in his arms so that Cas couldn’t see the tears on his face. Cas wouldn’t want that, couldn’t want the anguish, only wanted Dean for the good times. That was their unspoken agreement- that Dean would always be smiling, happy to see Cas, and always happy in his company. He wouldn’t want to know that Dean’s Omega was mourning the fact that they weren’t mates and couldn’t be. </p>
<p>Except Cas held him close and tight as Dean shook with the tears he was suppressing. Then said, concern and care in his voice, “I’m sorry. It’s very selfish of me to take so much from you. I know it’s hard for an Omega to have intercourse but be denied a knot. I wish you would let me do more for you in return.”</p>
<p>“More?” Dean asked. “Cas, you just bought me, like three hundred dollars worth of groceries.”</p>
<p>“And I would give you the world if you would accept it from me. Be my mate, Dean. Let me give you everything that’s mine to give. Let me share all that I have with you.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Burnt Ends</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“I can’t!” Dean said, anguished. Castiel stood there, face hard, like he was braced against a physical hit. He said nothing and Dean knew he had to explain.</p>
<p>““You don’t really want that and I can’t. Sammy.”</p>
<p>“They’d send him to the pre-military academies if you weren’t there to care for him?”</p>
<p>Dean nodded. The thought was just about unthinkable. Alpha schools had pretty much always been around but since the wars, things were just bad. Alpha kids that couldn’t afford private school were assigned to random pre-military academies anywhere in the country, no choice of where they went. Pre-military meant the army or navy or marines when he got out and pre-military academy kids were just cannon fodder in the wars. It was something that Dean tried not to think about. </p>
<p>Sam’s regular schooling was ending soon and he’d probably end up there anyway. But there was still time for it to be different. Sam had filled out scholarship applications for different schools. So many of them. Nothing had come back yet. It was kind of a Hail Mary pass, but maybe one would come through. If only Dad had been willing to put off getting married again until Sam could be schooled properly. With Dad’s proper support, they could have paid for one of the private academies and Sam wouldn’t need to do military service. Instead, Dad chose to have a second family without making sure his first was taken care of.</p>
<p>“I understand. I went through the system myself,” Cas said, voice flat, as if remembering some bad times. “It made me who I am, but I wonder if I would have been made into a better person if things had been different. You understand that if I could take Sammy under my roof, I would.”</p>
<p>Dean nodded again. Moving a budding adolescent Alpha like Sammy into the house of an unrelated older Alpha would inevitably end up with the death of one of them, almost certainly the younger Alpha. It was about the only thing with worse odds for Sam’s safety than the pre-military. The young Alpha would challenge the older. It was a when, not if kind of situation. An older Alpha could hold himself back in a public space, a shared space, but confronted in his own home, he would defend his property and territory. It would end in bloodshed.</p>
<p>“Would one of the academic academies or a pre-vocational school satisfy you?” Cas asked. “Something local so you could visit him frequently? Could he get into such a school? I know you’ve told me about how bright he is many times.”</p>
<p>“What good would getting in do him? It’s not like I can pay for that. He’s applied for scholarships but we never heard anything back.”</p>
<p>“As my mate, you would be able to. I would see that you could afford to send him to any school he could get into. I would do anything to make my mate happy.”</p>
<p>“I’ll think about it,” Dean said. He wasn’t sure though. Even assuming that Sammy could be taken care of in a good way, one that would set him up for life, Dean wasn’t sure he could give Cas everything he would want out of a mate. He could see, had always known really, just how much more Cas had than Dean ever would. Cas was on a different level altogether. He wouldn’t want shoddy, trashy Dean as a mate, even if he said he did. You could tell just by the way he acted to the snooty desk clerk, how he just entered this massive hotel suite as if it belonged to him, that he had real money. Probably way more than Dean ever dreamed of. The way he talked about sending Sammy off to an academic academy like it wasn’t any thing. </p>
<p>“There’s something you should know, before you accept my offer,” Cas said. “As you might gather, I have a comfortable amount of money. But I also have no intention of living anywhere else other than my little farm, ever. I won’t give it up for city life. I fought too hard to get it. This is nice to visit but I don’t want to live like this.”</p>
<p>Cas gestured around them at the luxury suite, at the glittering skyline and all its glamor. </p>
<p>“What about kids? I’ve seen your place. It’s like, nicer than ours, but its not any bigger. No way you could have kids in that place.”</p>
<p>“When it’s time, I thought I might build off the back. There’s plenty of room for some extra bedrooms. If that’s not feasible, there’s plenty of land to build a new house.”</p>
<p>“I don’t want kids,” Dean blurted. “Not yet anyway.”</p>
<p>Cas laid his hands on Dean’s face, gently, then kissed Dean’s forehead. Then he said, “Of course, you’ve already raised your brother, haven’t you? You’re so young yet have had so little time for your own life. Children would be a blessing someday but only as many and if you want and when you want.”</p>
<p>Dean could hardly stand it. Cas had to be playing him. Omegas like Dean didn’t get Alphas to mate them. Omegas like Dean, the best they could hope for was that their dads’ Beta wife wasn’t too evil. Or that they didn’t stumble in some way that left them fit only for outright prostitution or porn. He was choked up, felt like he was on the verge of tears again.</p>
<p>“You don’t think you deserve love, do you?” Cas asked. Dean just shook his head. “I wish you could see you as I see you. You deserve everything. Love. Care. Respect. Let me give that to you.”</p>
<p>“Love?” Dean asked, stunned. He never thought this was about love. This had been a transaction, hadn’t it? He put out and Cas gave them what they needed, but as he looked in Castiel’s electric blue eyes, he realized that Cas wasn’t kidding or lying about it being love, at least not on his side. Looking at the things Cas did for Dean, this was pursuit- courting maybe. An Alpha who was serious about mating a quality Omega would show the Omega he could provide for a mate and children by presenting gifts. Certain fancy pieces of jewelry were the traditional gifts, not groceries or clothes. But Dean had memories of when they first took up together, of Cas trying to gift him jewelry and Dean had always refused, because he didn’t want to be obligated. Because it had been too much. </p>
<p>“Yes, love,” Cas said, quietly. “I love you, Dean Winchester. I have since the moment I laid my eyes on you, when you walked up my driveway two years ago, wanting to know if you could earn money mowing my lawn.”</p>
<p>Dean remembered that day. Dad had still been around some, not yet married to his new wife, but he was gone a lot and didn’t leave a lot of groceries or money for them. Cas hadn’t let him mow, but instead set him to weeding this flower bed and had ended taking Dean out that night. It hadn’t been about sex at first, but just something like dating, only slowly turning into their arrangement.</p>
<p>Love at first sight? Castiel wasn’t demanding love in return, only asking that Dean allow himself to be loved. Dean didn’t know if he loved Castiel. Maybe love for anyone but Sammy wasn’t something Dean was capable of, but what Cas was offering was tempting. So tempting. Someone to take care off him for once. Not just buying the groceries, but everything, even taking care off Sam, getting him to one of the good schools. Two years Castiel had been pursuing Dean in every way Dean would allow and while Dean had yielded his body many times, he hadn’t yielded his heart yet. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. Cas was a good lover. The sex was always amazing. His body always responded to Castiel’s touch, always wanted more. </p>
<p>He tried to picture himself living in Castiel’s trim little house, so like theirs, so utterly not, wandering around Castiel’s flower beds, among the bees. Cas always kept everything so clean and perfect. Would there even be anything for Dean to do all day? What did he want out of Dean if not children. Wasn’t that what Alphas wanted out of an Omega? Children and a mate to keep the home. Castiel kept his own home and a hell of a lot better than Dean would be able to.</p>
<p>“You don’t want me as a mate,” Dean said. “I’m a good lay. No more than that. I’m not mate worthy. I can barely cook. I don’t want kids. I can’t keep a house. I’m no one’s best option for a mate.”</p>
<p>“You are. Please, let me show you just how much,” Cas said. “I would do anything to convince you of that. You are worthy and wonderful.”</p>
<p>He pulled a little box out of the pocket of the coat he’d shed earlier. Dean had seen it before. The box was a little battered now. Cas had kept it for nearly two years, apparently keeping it in his pocket all that time, given the state of the box. It was the same box from the first time Cas had tried to give Dean jewelry and Dean had refused, wouldn’t even let Cas open the box, because somehow, he knew that it would contain the traditional first courting gift. This time, Dean didn’t stop him as Cas opened it and there, in the little velvety box was a gold necklace with a gem pendant. The chain was substantial and the green gem pendant seemed to glow from within the depths of it. It was beautiful and exactly what any Omega would hope for from an Alpha. It must have cost a pretty penny, assuming it was real. It looked real.</p>
<p>“Cas, I love it,” Dean couldn’t stop himself from saying that. He reached out and touched the necklace and knew that he would put it on. That he would let Cas do the things he was offering. He might not have been worthy of this but that didn’t mean Dean didn’t want it. A moment later, Cas had fastened it around Dean’s neck and the gem nestled right at the spot over his heart and then Cas pressed a gentle kiss to Dean’s lips, strangely soft and almost chaste. </p>
<p>“Beautiful,” Castiel said. “Now, I believe I promised to take you out somewhere nice.”</p>
<p>“You don’t have to.”</p>
<p>“I want to take you out someplace you want to go. To celebrate.”</p>
<p>“Cas, I don’t mean to be ungrateful. I know you like all those fancy restaurants, but that’s never where I want to go.”</p>
<p>“A barbecue shack then?” Cas said. </p>
<p>So while Cas called down to consult the hotel staff about where to go for barbecue, Dean fussed around, cleaning up the mess they’d made just earlier, not wanting to leave that kind of thing around for someone else to clean up. He sprayed an odor neutralizer he found in the bathroom to get out some of the sex funk. </p>
<p>They wound up at this place on the ‘bad’ side of town, where the line was huge, full of all kinds of different people waiting for generous portions on paper plates. It was a warm night so when they finally received their orders, they took places at one of the few empty spaces at the scattered picnic tables and ate delicious brisket and fries. </p>
<p>“I misunderstood,” Cas said, unapologetically stealing another bite of meat from Dean’s plate. “Picking something deliberately burned does not sound appetizing at all, but these burnt ends that you got are delicious.”</p>
<p>Dean let him steal. He’d gotten the large plate because he’d known Cas would do just that. He was happy, for once, to sit out in the night air, slapping at mosquitos and filling his face full of slow smoked meat. The man in front of him wasn’t just his sugar daddy now. Promises had been made. The necklace felt heavy and warm around his neck, hidden under his shirts. They would be mates. Life would be good and only get better.</p>
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<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Sorry. I’m not feeling up for comments right now. I get weird about them sometimes. Kudos appreciated, of course. Thank you for reading.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Would you consider taking some form of birth control?” Castiel asked Dean as they were getting back into the van in the morning. His heart was light and joyous. Dean had agreed to formal courting last night and they were to be mates, but Castiel still worried. Dean had said he did not want children and Castiel would have to make sure that conception didn’t happen. The happiness of his mate was his only goal now. </p><p>“So you can knot me but I don’t get knocked up?”</p><p>“Put a little less delicately than I might, but essentially, yes. I would not want to impregnate you unless we were actively trying for children we both wanted.”</p><p>“Yeah, of course, but I can’t just walk in and get it. That’s not something an Omega can do,” Dean said. “Otherwise, I’d be on it already.”</p><p>Of course. Castiel shook his head silently. Things were better for Omegas now than even just forty, fifty years ago, but there were so many things an Omega had no control over.  So many things a Omega couldn’t get on their own. No bank account without an Alpha co-signer. No employment except with an Alpha sponsor. No control of their own reproductive health. Despite that Dean lived alone with his brother and was the head of their household, he was still, technically, under the guardianship of his Alpha father and couldn’t get a prescription for birth control on his own. Most Alpha fathers refused, thinking that an Omega shouldn’t need it as the Omega should remain a virgin until mating. </p><p>“We could stop at the registrar and give notice of our intent to mate, I would be able to sign off for you after that. The decision will be yours, of course. I would neither force children on you nor deny them to you.”</p><p>“How soon can we do this thing and get mated?”</p><p>“Well, I have the other nine traditional courting gifts in my drawer at home,” Castiel admitted. “So as soon as you accept them, we could be considered mated. As quickly or as slowly as you would like.”</p><p>Castiel had spent generously on the gifts. In a time when an Omega couldn’t have a job without written permission of their Alpha or a bank account without an Alpha co-signer, the only way they could accumulate wealth of any kind were personal gifts like jewelry. Gold and gems seemed inadequate, so Castiel had also looked into ways that he could settle a sum of cash on Dean that would make him independent of Castiel. He wanted Dean to want to be his mate, not be obligated to be his mate for financial reasons. The closest he could get to his goal was a trust with Dean as beneficiary, administered by an independent trustee. He would finalize the papers for that as soon as Dean had accepted all nine of the traditional gifts.</p><p>“Don’t you have to get permission from my father or something?”</p><p>“Has he been resident in your household here in Kansas for the last six months?”</p><p>“He hasn’t even called me since before my birthday,” Dean said, frowning. </p><p>“You’re considered an abandoned Omega by the state of Kansas. As such, no permission is needed for another Alpha to take proper guardianship such as a mating,” Castiel said. He’d had that legality hashed out as well when researching the possible trust. The law was actually a lot less pleasant. It allowed an abandoned Omega like Dean to be force claimed with no consequences. Dean was lucky, though he avoided much attention by living out in the country. In a town or city, he would have caught the unwanted attention of some Alpha and not been able to do anything about it. Castiel wouldn’t mention this to Dean though. There was no point in upsetting his beloved. Besides, Castiel wanted Dean to want to be mated, not just chose it for protection from other Alphas.</p><p>“Let’s get registered then,” Dean said, grinning, his expression changing in an instant. “You really mean this? This is real?”</p><p>“It is real, Dean. It is something I have wished for for a long time.”</p><p>They stopped at the registry office in Lawrence. It was not the most romantic of places. It was more city office than marriage venue. The floors were that pressed plastic tile they always were in the most institutional of places. The walls were white, the waiting chairs more plastic. They stepped up to a series of windows, glass separating them from the functionaries that would process the paperwork that turned them from unrelated persons to Alpha and Omega, mated pairs. At least mated in the eyes of the government. </p><p>“You got an Alpha to sign off for you?” One woman asked Dean during the process. </p><p>“No, I guess I qualify as abandoned,” Dean said. </p><p>The woman just looked blankly at Dean, then down at her paperwork, checking things off. “Okay, no problem. If you got an Alpha father that would actually object to this, he has three months to prove you weren’t abandoned. If he can, this is all invalidated and the mating will be annulled. Don’t worry, I’ve never heard of a deadbeat Alpha that bothered. Okay, that’s it. You pay the fee at the other window and you’re done.”</p><p>Castiel paid and they were done. Intent to mate filed and as good as married in the eyes of the law, unless John Winchester decided to show up.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter 7</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>They hurried home after getting married. It was already the afternoon, sun high in the sky and Dean had been out hours after the time he said he would be. Not that Sammy couldn’t take care of himself overnight, but Dean hated to leave him alone. Sam would be alone soon, Dean thought as Castiel’s van pulled in the long, rutted driveway of their house, tires crunching over gravel. Not alone alone, but gone off to school with strangers. Castiel assured him that it wasn’t just normal for an Alpha of Sammy’s age to go off to school, but essential for them. Dean knew it too, deep in his bones. If Sam were around for much longer, he’d get even more confused about his place in Dean’s life. He knew that. Sam would start thinking about Dean as mate even though Dean would only and always think about him as the sweet, bratty little brother of his heart, almost like a pup of his own.</p><p>Dean could hardly believe the turn his life had taken in just one night. Sam with a good school paid for. Dean with a necklace and a stack of papers stating that Castiel intended to become his mate. Promises were made. Life was going to change and maybe for the better just this once.</p><p>“I can’t come in with you,” Castiel said, regretfully. “You understand but come over as soon as you can. As soon as you have the talk with Sam.”</p><p>Dean walked up the creaky, half rotted wood steps to the back door of their little shack and unlocked the rickety storm door first, then the inner door. Sam was sitting at the kitchen table, school books stacked night around him, even though it was the weekend. Sam wasn’t working on school stuff though. He was waiting for Dean. He held a thick cream colored envelope in his hands. </p><p>“What’s this?” Dean asked, looking around. The kitchen was kind of trashed. Sam had plowed through several of the ready prepared meals and a couple of gallons of milk. He’d left the containers all over the counters for Dean to clean later. That was about par for the course for a young Alpha to do, so Dean ignored for now.</p><p>What really caught his eye was the envelope. Sammy held it out to Dean. The paper was textured and heavy, expensive stuff. Fancy printing in a rich looking dark brown indicated that it was from St. Carver’s Preparatory Academy in Kansas City. Why would the fanciest, most expensive school in Kansas City be sending heavy envelopes to his little brother Sam? Sam had wanted to apply, sure, but Dean had thought it the longest shot they had, so he hadn’t wanted to even waste the application fees, told Sammy not to do it.</p><p>“Open it,” Sam said. “And read it. I can’t. I’m scared.”</p><p>Dean did. “We are pleased to inform you that you will be welcomed into the freshman class of St. Carver’s, beginning the school year with an optional summer session starting June 15. Sammy, you didn’t.”</p><p>“I did. Read the rest.”</p><p>Dean skimmed ahead over the parts about when the school year started and that kind of stuff and came to a section that read, “We’re also pleased to inform you that you will be the recipient of several small scholarships as well as a need based financial aid package. The details of your scholarships are on pages three and four of your acceptance package. You should find this amount will cover all expenses at St. Carver’s, including residence hall, student fees, uniforms and a small stipend for incidentals.”</p><p>Sammy ran over to him and buried his face in the crook of Dean’s neck, reminding Dean just how quickly Sam was growing up. It wasn’t so long ago that face would have been in Dean’s belly, then his chest. Before long, Sam would be bigger than Dean. He couldn’t believe it and he felt torn up. On one hand, Sammy would be taken care of, like he knew had to happen. Teenage Alphas couldn’t stay at home, especially not with only a slightly older Omega to supervise them. They had to be taught to be good, grown Alphas by other Alphas in a pack environment. Everyone knew that. This was the answer to his prayers and Castiel didn’t even have to provide it. But his pup. His pup would be leaving him, growing up and going out into the world. </p><p>“Oh, Sammy, I know you’ve got to go away to school,” Dean said. “I’m just not ready for it. How’d you pull this off? A full scholarship and everything?”</p><p>“I knew I had to do it myself if I really wanted to do something with my life, Dean,” Sammy said. “I know Dad’s thrown us away. He doesn’t even call any more. I know you try and hide that. I’m sorry. I can’t take you with me. If I could bring you to school with me I would. I don’t want to abandon you, Dean, but I can’t take you with me. I thought maybe if you didn’t have me to worry about though, maybe you could get a good Alpha to mate you. I know I get shitty about Castiel sometimes. I can’t help it. It’s like something leaps out of my throat and I can’t stop it.”</p><p>“I know, kiddo,” Dean said, kissing the top of his pup’s head. “I know. Nobody blames you. I’m so proud of you. Pulling this off. I knew your brainiac tendencies would come in handy some day.”</p><p>“Are you going to be okay when I go to school?” Sammy asked. “I mean, will Dad stop sending you money and paying for the house?”</p><p>Dean didn’t have the heart to tell him that Dad already had. “I’ll be fine,” he promised. “Worst case scenario, I can just go to Dad’s and take care of his new kid.”</p><p>Sam frowned. “You shouldn’t have to go to Dad’s new house and be a free nanny for his new wife and kids. You don’t deserve that. I thought Cas really liked you. You smell like he does.”</p><p>“That’s what I gotta tell you. I know you don’t like him much, but I really kind of do. We’re getting mated, just as soon as you’re taken care of. He was going to pay to send you to a good school, but I’m so proud of you because he doesn’t have to now. Look at his first courting gift.”</p><p>Dean pulled the gold necklace from under his shirt and Sammy examined it. “I think that’s a real emerald, Dean.”</p><p>“No, can’t be. It’s huge,” Dean protested. The dark green gem was the size of his thumbnail. “It’s gotta be something else.” </p><p>He knew that Cas was loaded, relatively speaking, but an emerald of that size was a fortune. It would buy a property the size of their shack three or four times over. He’d assumed it was something else, something still real, but just much cheaper than emerald. There were other deep green gems, right?</p><p>“Looks pretty real,” Sam said. “I think maybe he loves you.”</p><p>“Yeah, he does,” Dean said, feeling completely unworthy of Castiel’s love but wondering maybe for the first time if Cas saw something about him that Dean just didn’t see.</p>
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<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Chapter 8</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Castiel was digging in his garden again, pausing only long enough to change from his suit to clothes for working outdoors, wondering if the protocol had changed now that there was an intent to mate. Before, he had always waited for Dean to come to him. It was just too fraught to cross over to the territory of a little Alpha terrorist like Sam without Dean accompanying him. It was difficult enough with Dean nearby. But there was an intent to mate, so perhaps Castiel would be welcome if he were to go over without an invitation? So long as he stayed well outside of the house, of course. He wasn’t foolish. Just a little lovesick. Just missing Dean already even though it had been a few short hours since they’d parted. He shouldn’t have let Dean go home without a plan for them to be together next. </p><p>Then Castiel looked up. Dean was standing over him, looking down, as if waiting for an invitation to get down next to Cas. </p><p>“Hello, Dean,” Castiel said. “Let me get up.”</p><p>“Nah, I’ll help you weed,” Dean said, getting down on his knees near Castiel. He pulled at a stray dandelion, unable to budge its stubborn tap root easily, so Castiel passed over the dandelion puller. Dean dug and levered out the long root. “I was worried. About the necklace. Sam thinks it might be the real deal.”</p><p>“It is,” Cas said, voice level. The courting necklace might have been a bit too much, but when he had gone shopping for one, it had caught his eye like nothing else, that deep, green emerald so very like Dean’s eyes, with such sparkle and purity. He’d known the instant he’d seen it that the necklace should belong to Dean.</p><p>“Maybe I ought to give it back to you for safe keeping. I can’t get insurance on something like this, even if they let Omegas do that.”</p><p>“I have a separate rider on my insurance for it and all the other pieces I bought as courting gifts. You’re covered for damage, loss or theft.”</p><p>“You can’t just expect me to walk around with this much money on my neck. I’m not worth it!”</p><p>Dean was the greatest treasure Castiel had ever found, something that mere money could not compare to. Dean had brought light and joy into his life at a point where there hadn’t been very much. When he’d met Dean, he’d just done what he’d always thought he wanted- bought his property out in the country and settled into planting his garden and tending his bees, but he’d discovered he was still very much lonely and alone. Life was still the incessant round of days without much meaning. He had been calmer, less angry all the time, but he had not yet become happy. That hadn’t happened until he’d met Dean, who had brought light into his life. </p><p>“You are worth that and more,” he said. “If you’re worried about breaking the necklace, we could get you a replica placeholder for daily wear. Omegas sometimes do that for the courting necklace, but I’m not taking it back. It’s yours now, even if our courting does not end in a full mating.”</p><p>“What if my Dad takes it and sells it?”</p><p>Castiel had considered that, but considering that Dean had let him know that John Winchester had not so much as called in over six months, it seemed unlikely that the man would be aware there was a necklace to be stolen and sold. Besides, there would be consequences if that happened. </p><p>“Then I could help you retain a lawyer to sue for recovery and damages,” Cas said, firmly. “The necklace is yours now, by law. No Alpha, not even your father, can take it from you. There have even been cases where an Omega sold their courting necklace and gave the proceeds to their Alpha father, then were able to later recover the value in court.”</p><p>Castiel had gone over many contingencies with his attorneys, including that Dean’s father should show up, thinking he deserved a cut somehow. They’d discussed the possibility of just paying John off in advance, versus how much money it might take to get the man to go away after the fact. Castiel would pay him to go away if it seemed likely he might show up and harm Dean, but didn’t think the man deserved a cent. </p><p>“You are worth it to me and you always will be,” Castiel said, finally. He leaned towards Dean, both of them still kneeling in the grass and dirt where they had been weeding. He touched Dean on the cheek, as if he might lean in for a kiss. They hadn’t yet had a chance to make love since getting home from Kansas City. Part of him wanted to do it now, take Dean into his house and have them make love in his bed that would soon be their bed. Part of him wanted to hold off, to not engage in intercourse again until they had the issue of birth control settled. So that the next time they did, they could fully engage and Dean could be knotted safely, no risk of pregnancy. Or only a very small risk. Dean must have been thinking the same thing. </p><p>“You know, I was thinking, how soon do you think we could get that birth control? So you could knot me.”</p><p>Castiel almost choked at Dean being so direct, even though he was not eating or drinking anything. Normally, they only talked sex when they were in the act or about to be. “Any time,” Castiel said. “Soon. We could go now. There’s a walk-in clinic in Lawrence.”</p><p>“Eager. I like it,” Dean said, smiling. “How about Monday though. During school hours. Sam’s got finals this week so I want to be around when he’s not at school. Not that he needs me. Boy’s doing harder stuff than I ever did in school. I just wanted to let you know, you don’t need to pay for his school. I should have known. The little shit went out and won himself a scholarship to the best academy in the Midwest without even telling me he was applying to them. I told him not to waste the application fee.”</p><p>“St. Carver’s?” Castiel asked. That was exactly the school that he was going to recommend that Sam try for. If Sam could do well there, it would allow him to write his own ticket to nearly any university in the country, even the Ivies. It was impressive he won a scholarship as they did not offer many. </p><p>“Yeah. I always said he was a brainiac, but this is really something,” Dean said as he worried another dandelion from the soil. </p><p>They were a problem, dandelions. On the whole, he found it salubrious to have them growing in the patches of grass between his beds. Lawns of grass monoculture were anathema to his philosophy of gardening, but dandelions with their blowing seeds would spread anywhere they pleased, including the beds where their presence was not wanted. Still, they were a valuable addition to the compost. Everything in his garden had a purpose and a reason for being. </p><p>“Your brother’s achievements are impressive,” Castiel said. “Did you want an opportunity to finish your education, Dean?”</p><p>Progress had been made. Once, not so long ago, Omegas were pulled from education right after grade school, before adolescence even. Now they were allowed to continue through high school in the Beta schools and even into higher education if they could, but high school was not compulsory for Omegas. Many families still pulled their Omega children from school, to keep them home, to help with the younger children mostly. Dean being the caretaker of a younger child was unusual only in the fact that it was one child, not multiple children. </p><p>“It’s pointless,” Dean said. “Omegas don’t graduate high school.”</p><p>“Nothing that could make my Omega happy is pointless,” Castiel said. “And Omegas certainly can and do graduate high school. Even university. I know a few who are doctors even.”</p>
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<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Like Ice</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>They were in a doctor’s office in Lawrence. Cas was fully dressed in suit, tie and the trench coat even and Dean had stripped down, dressed in only one of those open back gown things. A nurse had taken his temperature and blood pressure and all that. They were just waiting until the doc came in to examine him. No one had questioned the right of Castiel to accompany him, just seemed to take for granted that Cas was his Alpha without even asking to see any papers or anything. Dean wasn’t even sure he wanted Cas in here for this, his first time getting this kind of examination, but everyone just acted like of course Cas would be in here with him as Dean was getting poked and prodded in his junk and evaluated to see if he would be allowed birth control. </p>
<p>It was a Beta woman doctor who entered the room eventually, not looking at them right away, but down at a chart. </p>
<p>“Castiel Novak and your Omega?”</p>
<p>“Yes, that’s right,” Castiel answered. Dean opened his mouth in surprise, then shut it again. He knew that’s how things worked, but he wasn’t quite ready for feeling like they were talking about him as if he wasn’t even there. </p>
<p>“And you’re here to obtain birth control for your Omega. Might I ask why? He seems healthy, no prior births and within an ideal age range for pregnancy. I’m surprised you’re not trying to stick a bun in that cute little oven.”</p>
<p>“Dean isn’t, that is to say, we are not ready for children yet,” Cas said, stroking Dean’s shoulder. “At least not for a few years.”</p>
<p>“Fair enough, Alpha,” she said. “Let’s get your Omega examined. Do I have your permission to speak to him?”</p>
<p>Even Cas seemed to startle at that, as if he hadn’t realized how much he had slipped into a traditional Alpha role unconsciously. “Of course, Dean is the patient here, not myself.”</p>
<p>“Okay, Omega, I’m going to ask you to lie down on the table,” she said.</p>
<p>“Dean,” Castiel said. “His name is Dean. Please use it.”</p>
<p>The doctor and the nurse shared a look. The nurse even rolled her eyes. Even so, the doctor said, “Dean, if you could lie back and put your feet up in the stirrups just so. Scoot down. That’s right.”</p>
<p>Dean did was he was told, little paper blanket over his lap but his junk still all hanging out in the breeze. They asked him all kinds of questions, like about when he had started lactating, what he had been using for birth control before this. When was the last time he’d been to the doctor. He tried to remember the last time he had been to the doctor but couldn’t. Dad didn’t go in for that sort of thing much. There’d been that time when he was little that he’d gotten sick. But no, that was before Mom died. There were some times he’d gotten shots in the arm, immunizations. He was supposed to have gotten a well-Omega exam at sixteen, to make sure everything had developed right, paid for by the county health department, but that had been scheduled in Lawrence and Dad had been gone, so it hadn’t happened.That hadn’t been long before the announcement that John had wed again and a new brother was on the way.</p>
<p>Something frigid slid inside of him, in that place that only Cas had been inside. Dean just about jumped off the table from the painfulness and cold.</p>
<p>“What the fuck is that?” He snapped.</p>
<p>“It’s just the speculum, Omega. Calm down and lie back down.”</p>
<p>“The what?”</p>
<p>“The speculum. It shouldn’t be that uncomfortable. You’re quite obviously not a virgin,” she said, holding up a funny metal object that looked way too big to be going inside Dean’s junk. </p>
<p>“Yeah, but I’ve never had metal in there,” Dean said. “And fuck, do you keep that thing in the freezer? It’s like ice.”</p>
<p>Cas clenched his jaw, looking angry. </p>
<p>The doctor glared at them both angrily, and she said, “A word with you, Alpha. In the hallway.”</p>
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<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Non-compliant and disorderly</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Castiel could see what was going on. He’d read about this sort of thing before. The speculum she’d chosen was massive. So he went on the offensive before she could get in a word about how he needed to control his Omega or she would end the appointment.</p>
<p>“I will not have my Omega punished because you believe certain things about his moral character just because we are seeking not to have a child we are not yet ready for. I know for a fact that is your largest speculum. Dean may not be a virgin but he has not yet had a child yet. He has obviously never had this type of exam before either. So you will be gentle with him or I will be speaking with Gabriel Milton on the hospital board.”</p>
<p>Castiel didn’t do much socializing, but what little he did was charity related and included the fundraising events that helped support this not for profit clinic. Gabriel Milton was a clown, true, but powerful in his way. He was both the Head of Medicine, and chairman of the hospital board. Also, a cousin of Castiel’s, one of a multitude who were in powerful positions. A few words from Castiel to Gabriel could make or break a doctor’s career at this hospital. Castiel wasn’t the type to drop names or use his influence like this, but clearly Dean was being maltreated by this woman. Gabriel would want to know if Omegas were being discriminated against at his hospital. After all, he was one himself, though he hid it well. </p>
<p>The doctor just nodded, not pacified, but clearly cowed for the moment. “I’ll use the smaller speculum for now, but if you’re going to want an IUD for your Omega, like most Alphas decide on, I’ll need the larger one for an adequate view and the insertion will hurt a lot more than the little pinch from the speculum. You can’t be so soft when it comes to your Omega.”</p>
<p>“IUD?” Castiel asked. “I thought you would prescribe pills.”</p>
<p>“For a Beta woman. They’re just not as effective in Omegas. If you want to avoid pregnancy, you’ll need him to have an IUD unless you yourself opt for a vasectomy.”</p>
<p>He had thought hard about it for a while. He would like children someday but would be satisfied to be without them, so long as he was with Dean. Dean’s final word on pregnancy and children hadn’t been ‘no’. It had been, ‘not yet.’ Vasectomies were very often successfully reversed in Alphas, but it was not a guarantee that it wouldn’t be permanent. You could have semen stored in a freezer for use later, but there was no guarantee there either.</p>
<p>But he didn’t like the idea of a metal device being inserted into Dean with the promise of pain. It sounded not just that this doctor thought it likely, but that she relished the thought of an Omega being punished because they didn’t want children at the moment. The longer this examination went on, the less Castiel liked this doctor and the more he wanted to pull Dean from her care. He had brought Dean to this clinic because it was his cousin who ran it and had hoped for the kindest care for Omegas here. This was not what he had expected. He had even called earlier in the day and spoken with Gabriel, to confirm that Dean would be given birth control. Some places refused to prescribe it for Omegas, even with the consent of an Alpha, if the Omega had not yet given birth a few times. Gabriel assured him that yes, Castiel’s mate to be could get what he needed without having been pregnant first.</p>
<p>Castiel was about to ask if there weren’t any better options or if at least there was some way to avoid as much pain as possible when Gabriel strode down the corridor, as cocky and confident as if he were an Alpha. As if he owned the place. Castiel had assured him during their earlier call that his presence would not be required at the appointment, but obviously Gabriel had his own opinions on that. </p>
<p>“Hey, Cuz,” Gabriel said. “How’s it shaking? You got your Omega all set so you can get on with giving him the knot whenever you want?”</p>
<p>“No, not yet. We were discussing options. This doctor is telling me that our only option is an IUD. I thought there were pills and other treatments.”</p>
<p>“Yeah, well, Omega reproductive studies are about fifty years behind that of Beta women. They sometimes try and give them the same stuff they give to Betas, but the chances of pregnancy are still sky high. If I were an Omega wanting to avoid pregnancy, I would pick a copper-T IUD every time. Twenty minutes of suckitude, years of worry free banging. Best bet for no babies for an Omega are sterilization, then IUD, then condom use every single time. What we call Omegas who try any other methods is Mommy.”</p>
<p>“So, in your informed and personal opinion, this IUD is the best choice.”</p>
<p>“It’s pretty much the only choice. So, why are we having this discussion about options here in the hallway, without the Omega in question? Dr. Masters?”</p>
<p>“The Omega is non-compliant and disorderly,” she said. </p>
<p>“He objected verbally to the coldness and size of the speculum she used, no more,” Castiel said. Dean had been far, far more docile at the treatment that he received than Castiel would have been at far less. </p>
<p>“Well, let’s get this taken care of,” Gabriel said. “Meg, you really are a little ham-handed with the Omega exams. We’ve spoken about this before. I hope I won’t have to again.”</p>
<p>They returned to the exam room only to find it empty. Dean’s clothes were gone and the exam gown was in a little pile on the floor. He’d taken off in the few minutes that Castiel had been out in the hallway and had somehow slipped right past them. Admittedly, his conversation with the doctor had been somewhat heated, but he wasn’t sure just how Dean could have gone without him noticing at all. Without waiting for a response from either the doctor or his cousin, Castiel was running, following the path that Dean mostly likely would have had to take, sniffing the air deeply for any hint of scent. </p>
<p>It was elusive under the hospital odors- bleach and other cleaners were pungent, purposefully meant to cut human odors, then the odors of sick people and just many people in general, but he thought he caught a delicate whiff of Dean’s scent, just a hint of it, so he followed it. He strode out of the clinic, starting to run as he caught a better trace of Dean in the parking lot, once he was away from the cleaning products. Dean was in distress, he could tell. And running. Dean moved fast, a lot faster than Castiel thought was possible. They were nearly a mile down the road from the clinic by the time Castiel had caught up with him. Dean was heading for the highway, as if he was planning to walk back to his own house. Maybe he was planning to hitchhike which was an even more terrifying prospect to Castiel.</p>
<p>“I’m not worth it,” was all Dean said as Castiel stopped him, wrapped his arms around the shaking Omega.</p>
<p>“You are worth more than anything else to me,” Castiel said. “You are my treasure and I will see that you get what you need. Let’s go home, Dean. We can talk about our options.”</p>
<p>“What options?” Dean said, bitterly. “You heard the doc in the hallway. I can get a copper thing shoved up my junk or get knocked up.”</p>
<p>“I will get a vasectomy,” Castiel said. Perhaps it was an impulsive promise to make but he couldn’t stand the fear in his Omegas voice. “This is something that should not be all on you. I don’t like the idea of a metal device inside your uterus any more than you do. It’s a simple procedure and almost always reversible for an Alpha.”</p>
<p>“You’d do that for me? Get your junk clipped?”</p>
<p>“The way I understand it, nothing is clipped, but it’s more akin to a complicated injection. It’s very low risk,” Castiel said. “And I would be happy to do anything that would make your life easier and free from worry. Let’s go home.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. A Freakin’ Tiara</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>They were back at Castiel’s house after the disastrous appointment. Cas had insisted that Dean come in, for at least a little while, to rest and Cas could feed him lunch. Dean had relented, only because Sammy was still at school and it would be a while until the bus brought him home. Only a few more days of school and then only two weeks to when he would start at the summer program at St. Carver’s. Only a handful of days left where Dean would get to take care of him. </p><p>Cas had sat Dean down at the kitchen table then gone off to another part of the pleasant little house. This would probably be where he lived soon, Dean thought, not really feeling it would actually happen. This house was the twin of the one they rented, but instead of being allowed to slowly fall apart over the years, this house was cherished. It had a subtle scent to it, something under the smell of his Alpha, that spoke to Dean of home, of being loved and cared for. Nothing so blatant or particular as the scent of baking or spices, but something warm. There was just a feeling too. Like, how some houses felt spooky or haunted, even if they looked perfectly normal. This was the opposite of that. This house was loved. Specifically, Castiel loved this house.</p><p>The floors in the house where Dean lived were wood too, like these, but they were scarred up, stained and splintery raw wood. The floorboards in Castiel’s house were polished, rubbed until they shone. There were rugs everywhere too, fancy Oriental rugs like you’d see in rich peoples’ houses on the TV. There was a whole wall in the living room that was bookcases and the bookcases were full of books. Sammy, if he could have come in, would have really gotten excited about those bookcases. Maybe someday, when Sammy was grown, he could be invited to visit. </p><p>Creamy white drapes in some gauzy fabric were pulled across the windows, making the mid-day light soft and filtered, blunting its harshness. In Dean’s house, there were no curtains, no shades. Dean had never bothered getting any, even something makeshift, because the nearest neighbor was Cas and you couldn’t even see Dean’s shack from Castiel’s house. In Sammy’s bedroom, because Sammy needed dark to sleep, they’d duct taped blankets over the windows. </p><p>Castiel returned bearing a wooden box about ten inches by twelve, about six inches tall. It was hand carved with a swirly leafy pattern. It was probably a jewelry box. The second of the traditional courting gifts. An Omega needed a place to keep all the other gifts that would be coming. Most of them were only worn on super special occasions. Mostly, on a daily basis, only the first and last gifts were worn, sort of symbolic that way. Alpha and Omega. First and last. </p><p>Cas put it into Dean’s hands and Dean didn’t refuse it. He just examined the box, noting that there were all kinds of symbols hidden in the carvings, little stars and wings. Birds hiding partly under leaves. Pieces of fruit as if they were growing on the branches. It also appeared to be a solid piece of wood, no way to open it. Maybe it was a puzzle box? It was a pretty popular variation on the second traditional gift to offer a puzzle box, so he fingered it all over, looking for hidden latches or sliding panels. The box was a lot heavier than you would think for wood, weighty and solid seeming.</p><p>Finally, the bottom panel slid open, revealing a negative space the shape and size of a human hand, lined with silvery metal, though the metal was covered with that blue plastic they put on new electronic stuff. </p><p>“It’s a biometric reader,” Cas explained. “Once you set it by touching your hand to the metal, the box will open only for you. Only you will be able to get to your jewelry. Not even I would be able.”</p><p>“Wouldn’t someone just smash it with a hammer or something?” Dean asked. The box was only wood- soft, fragile wood.</p><p>Cas gave a little grin. “Just like you, this box is a lot tougher that it appears at first. Only the outer layer is fragile. Inside, it’s made of laminated alloys, including steel. There’s very little that can get through, short of high grade industrial equipment. Go on. Open it.”</p><p>Dean was pretty sure that he didn’t deserve anything like this obviously super expensive box, but once you accepted the first of the traditional courting gifts, to refuse any of the others would be tantamount to calling off their mating. Dean knew that Cas was pretty comfortably set, but he was beginning to think that the dude was out and out rich. Like rich like you only ever saw on television rich. He pulled off the blue plastic film and touched his hand to the metal plate. Nothing happened for a moment, then there was a deep thunk from inside the box and the lid cracked open just a little. </p><p>Dean was able to lift the lid completely. Inside of the box was lined with deep blue velvet. Whatever jewelry Cas gave him next would sparkle on that velvet. There were slots for a couple of rings, little divided compartments for bracelets and other things. </p><p>“Got nothing to put in it now,” Dean said absently, not thinking about it. </p><p>“Of course,” Cas said. “Few Omegas do. Here.”</p><p>Cas pulled a second, smaller box out of his pocket. It was one of those small velvet jewelers boxes. Inside was surely the third of the traditional gifts. Again, he couldn’t refuse, not without calling the whole thing off. Dean opened the velvet clamshell and inside was a glittery, diamond covered brooch. It was beyond extravagant. As expected, it was an Alpha and Omega pin. Only, it couldn’t be more obvious that it wasn’t gold plated like they usually were. It was solid gold, in a very yellow, high karat alloy, at least 18k. Only real diamonds sparkled in the light like that. If they were real, the cost of this bauble was staggering. Like more expensive than a new car. </p><p>“Cas, I can’t. This is too much,” Dean protested. “This is...”</p><p>“Only what you deserve,” Castiel said, firmly. “The traditional gifts are not meant to be only symbolic. They were meant to be an actual transfer of wealth to the Omega, so that they could be taken care of, should the worst happen. Or so that you would not be left worse off than you were, should the mating be called off for any reason.”</p><p>Dean was aware that registering their intent to mate, like they had, more or less ruined his prospects at being mated by anyone else, ever. Omegas who were dumped after that relied on their families or on things worse. Oh, Dean, while he was young and pretty, could probably get himself a sugar baby relationship like the one he’d thought he had with Cas before, but more likely, he’d have to resign himself to a life in his father’s house, acting as unpaid nanny to any kids John’s Beta wife had. But if he sold this pin, it was enough to buy a car and then some. </p><p>A car was freedom. Dean knew how to drive, Dad had at least taught him that, even if Omegas couldn’t get a license on their own in Kansas. But if Dean drove carefully, he could make it to North Dakota where his uncle Bobby lived. He could get a license on his own there. Not a lot of places would take an unmated Omega on as an employee, but there were always a few that would. This pin, this gift, could be a whole new life for Dean  if this thing with Castiel didn’t work out. It probably wouldn’t be nearly as good as life with Castiel probably would be, but it would be something. Even so, Dean could scarcely believe what came out of his lips next.</p><p>“Instead of the forth gift, would you get me a car? Doesn’t have to be a good car. And the provisional license to drive it.”</p><p>An Omega couldn’t get a license on their own in many states, but Kansas recognized it was a big state with lots and lots of roads between towns and it wasn’t always practical to not allow Omegas to drive at all. Children had to be driven to schools, errands had to be run and groceries had to be bought. Alphas couldn’t do all the driving needed to run a rural household. So, an Omega could get a provisional license if an Alpha was willing to sign a bond and pay a yearly fee. In essence, the Omega was driving under the Alpha’s license. Any points from traffic violations would go on the Alpha’s record. Any crimes, such as vehicular homicide, would send the Alpha to jail. A provisional license meant an Alpha taking total responsibility for what the Omega did on the road. Very few families did this unless it was absolutely needed. John had not been willing to do it. </p><p>Dean knew that this was a tremendous ask from Castiel. He was fully prepared to hear no. But the forth gift was traditionally a freaking tiara. No way in hell did Dean want a tiara. Especially not one that he would be expected to wear at his formal mating ceremony. So, it was worth the risk of being told no. If he didn’t ask at all, the answer was an automatic no.</p><p>Castiel frowned for a moment and seemed to think deeply about it, then smiled, “I should have thought about that sooner. Of course my Omega will have a car and license. But not instead of the fourth gift. In addition to. I already have the fourth gift bought for you.”</p><p>“A freaking tiara? You’re really going to make me wear a tiara?”</p><p>“Give it to you, yes. Make you wear it? Could I actually make you do anything you didn’t want to, Dean? I will never force you to do anything, wear any particular thing, act any particular way.”</p><p>He hadn’t even tried to make Dean wear prettier Omega clothes. Offered them, yes, but forced- no. The few clothes Dean had allowed Cas to get him, Dean had picked out himself, well, other than the lingerie.</p><p>It wasn’t that Dean didn’t think he’d like Omega style clothes. They just weren’t what he was used to and they weren’t practical. They were expensive and delicate. The clothes he wore were ones left here by his father or the Alpha style clothes that could be bought readily and cheaply at a thrift store. Yeah, he might have looked on in envy at the kind of Omegas who could afford nice clothes, but it just hadn’t been realistic for him.</p><p>“Did you want me to wear pretty clothes for you?” Dean asked. He’d worn his best jeans today again, but just now noticed that sometime during the day, a hole had ripped open in the knee, leaving him with exactly zero pairs that didn’t have some kind of rip, tear, hole or patch. He picked and pulled a little at the new hole. “You’re always offering, but I never took you up on it. I know some Alphas like to dress their Omegas in pretty clothes.”</p><p>“Would you like to go shopping now?” Cas asked, eagerly. “It pleases me immensely to buy my Omega anything.”</p><p>Dean laughed a little at Castiel’s eagerness. “Maybe later tonight? I should go now. Sammy’s bus is gonna be here soon.”</p><p>“Hold up just a moment,” Castiel said. </p><p>He came back with a fairly sizable velvet box. He held it out to Dean. It was the fucking tiara. Since it was kind of inevitable at this point, Dean took the box. It was green velvet on the outside and surprisingly heavy. Dean lifted the lid. Inside was a circlet of gold, ribbed, but mostly plain, something you could almost see a not particularly feminine Omega actually wearing if he were as rich as fuck. Set into the middle there was another emerald, about the size of the one in the necklace, surrounded by little diamonds, but it was obvious that gold was the main point here. The gold was richer in color, deeper yellow, than it was on the setting of the necklace and Dean wondered if that meant it was a purer gold. It was ounces and ounces of high karat gold. It would probably hurt your neck to have that much weight on your head.</p><p>How the hell much did something like this cost? How could Castiel possibly think Dean was worth it. But he couldn’t refuse it. Instead, Dean picked up his clever little jewelry box and put his hand onto the bio reader on the bottom. There was that heavy click and then Dean could slide the lid open. There. On the bottom under the tray that lifted up was a spot that looked like it had been designed to hold the tiara box. That was clever, how exactly it fit. Still, if he ever got to the point where he had to sell his jewelry, the tiara was definitely going first.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Doing it for Dean</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Castiel had scheduled himself a consultation with an Alpha fertility specialist that very same day and by the following day, was sitting in a well appointed office, having a discussion with a doctor. He couldn’t help but notice the difference in how he, as an Alpha, had been treated, compared with Dean, who had waiting a long time in the public waiting area, then been relegated to a cramped office and put into an open back gown before the doctor had even laid eyes on him. Cas had been immediately escorted into the office to wait, in private, before the doctor had come in to discuss what would happen before Castiel would step foot in an examination room. Perhaps part of the difference was that he’d asked his cousin Gabriel for help in setting up the appointment, but he had asked the same when scheduling Dean’s. Presumably, how Dean had been treated was the best Gabriel’s clinic had to offer Omegas.</p><p>The doctor was explaining the procedure thoroughly, using disturbingly graphic visuals on a computer screen. “So, you see, while most people call this a vasectomy, that’s really a bit of a misnomer. The vas are not cut at all. In essence, the injected drug glues the vas deferens shut, not allowing the sperm to join the flow of semen. Another injection at a later time dissolves this and fertility is generally restored.”</p><p>“There is a possibility it does not reverse though?”</p><p>“Typically less than two percent, worse in people who have experienced keloid scarring before. We do recommend Alphas freeze a generous sample of semen that could be used in an IUI or IVF procedure if you might want to father children later. This is one of our services, of course. Overall, the procedure is safe, highly effective and highly reversible.”</p><p>“So, how do we get started?” Castiel asked. </p><p>Not long after, Castiel found himself in a private room with an empty sample jar, a couch, a TV and a disturbingly large amount of pornographic material. There was a lurking scent of other Alphas’ come that no amount of scent scrubbers and blockers could overcome, probably embedded deeply in the upholstery of the couch, but it wasn’t one particular Alpha, so it was possible to overcome his distaste for it. He took a quick glance at the magazines that had been left for him in the room, Busty Omega Beauties, was the one on the top of the pile. He flipped through a few pages and decided immediately that none of the Omegas laid bare in the magazine could come close to holding a candle to his Dean. </p><p>It was Dean he was doing this for. He thought about Dean and ignored the magazines and videos on offer. Dean with his knee sticking out of his jeans. Tugging those jeans down. Unwrapping him slowly from the many layers of flannel and t-shirts, the pretty bra underneath. The perfect blend of masculine and feminine. Dean lightly muscled but lean and sleek, yet with those wonderful soft, milk filled breasts. The way his cocklet would stand high, proud, tight against his body when Dean was aroused, letting his wet, glistening pussy take center stage for the moment. How delicious it was to burrow in there, licking and teasing, tasting the readily flowing slick.</p><p>He’d hardly even noticed the moment where he had pulled himself out and begun stroking his cock to an easy rhythm. He wanted Dean there with him at this moment, but he was satisfied enough, knowing he was doing this for Dean, so that he could sink his cock inside his Omega without a condom, let his knot expand and give his Omega the thing he needed, the thing that had been missing from their sex life. </p><p>The first spurt of come had caught him by surprise, but he was able to get it together enough to grab the collection jar and position it correctly, gathering all the rest, hand wrapped tightly around his knot to simulate an Omega’s internal grip. He filled the jar to the minimum required level and a good bit more before he softened and the come no longer pulsed out. </p><p>What happened afterwards was a good bit less pleasant, involving local anesthetics and needles injected into tender places after he allowed himself to be restrained into the procedure chair. Apparently, even Alphas who wanted this procedure could not help themselves from acting defensively and instinctually when someone came after their most sensitive parts with sharp objects. He decided that it had, in fact been necessary, after the fact. As the needle plunged in, though it really couldn’t be felt, he found himself struggling mightily against his bonds, his fangs dropping involuntarily for the first time since adolescence. It was unsettling, but when it was all done and his system was completely settled, he was glad it had been done. He was soon dressed, then given instructions to ice himself to prevent swelling and an appointment to come back and confirm that his sperm count was zero. </p><p>“That’s it?” He asked. Other than the unsettling way his body had perceived the procedure as threat, it had hardly hurt. He was walking out the door in less than three hours after he’d walked in, procedure already complete.</p><p>“That’s it. I only wish that more Alphas would consider the procedure when they aren’t ready for children, rather than putting the burden on their Omegas.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Note- there are scientists working on the type of birth control described, but it’s not approved for human use yet.</p><p> </p><p>If you’ve already left kudos and you wish you could do it again, consider reading and leaving kudos on Angel (A Christmas Story).  I think there were just so many Christmas stories and Destiel stories in general in December that a lot of good stories got buried. </p><p>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28294815</p><p>Or not. It’s cool either way.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0013"><h2>13. Eviction Notice</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The days until Sam would leave for his new school passed quickly, more quickly than Dean could have anticipated. He, with Castiel’s help, went and bought everything he could for Sammy to take with him. He hadn’t wanted to take Castiel’s help for this, but the money from the school hadn’t come yet and it was the only way. They bought navy blue pants and suit jackets with a fancy gold embroidered crest from the official school store, they bought white shirts and striped ties in the official school pattern. They bought shoes and pajamas and gym clothes. Not to much of any one thing. The woman working in the store reminded Dean that from this point, Sammy would probably start growing super fast. This stuff wouldn’t fit by the end of the year, maybe not even in six months. Still, they loaded bags and bags of stuff into Castiel’s van. </p><p>He’d never let Castiel buy him so much stuff at once before that wasn’t groceries. Dean was about to comment on this when Castiel said, “Knowing young Alphas, I suspect we probably need to go to the grocery store again already.”</p><p>“No, we’re okay on groceries for now. We still have a bunch of the canned goods and frozen stuff and he’s only going to be here two more days. Then, there’s not much point to plan for after that. We got the eviction notice finally.”</p><p>Dean pulled the crumpled piece of paper out of his pocket. It had been stapled to the front door and he’d hurriedly pulled it down so Sammy wouldn’t know that Dad had stopped paying a while back. The only thing Dean didn’t know was why the landlord had taken so long. Maybe he thought the small amount of rent on the tumbledown shack wasn’t worth the bother? Castiel frowned as he examined the paper.  </p><p>“Your father hasn’t paid since January?” Cas asked.</p><p>“I guess he thought since I turned eighteen, I could figure it out somehow or something.”</p><p>“Well, the simplest thing to do would be to have you move in as soon as Sam has started school, but if you don’t feel ready yet, I could arrange to have this paid.”</p><p>“We’ll be mates, right? So I’m going to have to move in sometime,” Dean said, reluctantly. Honestly, it was the only thing he could think to do, without begging John Winchester to come pick him up and take up the unpaid nanny biz. </p><p>“I can tell you don’t feel ready,” Castiel said.</p><p>“It’s stupid to pay rent on such a shitty place because I don’t have the guts to do everything so fast,” Dean said. He hated it. He never wanted to admit fear and Cas had never been anything but kind to him, but there were just so many bad things that could happen to an Omega who was letting himself get mated to an Alpha, especially in that time of courting, between the acceptance of the first gift and the time everything was signed and done. Even after that. The gifts, like Cas said, were supposed to provide for an Omega in case shit got fucked up, but you heard about a lot of Omegas that landed in wreck and ruin after accepting that first gift. But he’d never had Cas act anything but loving towards him. Cas wanted him, not seemingly as a possession, but because Cas wanted him by his side. </p><p>“It’s stupid. It’s not like I’m exactly a blushing virgin,” Dean said. In truth, he was already ruined, as far as most Alphas were concerned. Perhaps maybe he should just call Dad and ask to be taken in. Dean had obtained his goal- launching Sammy into a good school. He didn’t deserve the kind of life where Alphas bought you glittery prizes just for the chance to court you. He wasn’t worth that. </p><p>“There’s always my spare bedroom,” Cas offered. “If you’re not ready to join me in my bedroom. The door has a lock.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0014"><h2>14. A Stop at the DMV</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Opening comments on just this one story for a while. We’ll see how I feel. Winter is tough for me, ya know? This winter triply so.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Castiel could see how Dean wavered on the edge of fear. He knew that Dean struggled with accepting help, even now. He knew that Dean did not feel worth being lifted up or taken care of and Castiel knew that was in no small part due to the actions of John Winchester. If Castiel were  more of a shark, he would have ruined John long ago, but it wasn’t the sort of person he aspired to be. As it was, he just hoped he could someday lift Dean out of the shadow of the man, so that Dean could shine. He hoped he could do it before the man did any more damage.</p><p>“No, that’s stupid too,” Dean said. “I’ve had your cock inside me and your mouth on my tits. I shouldn’t be afraid to sleep in your bed.”</p><p>“The rest of the courting gifts could be given as soon as you want. You could be officially my mate this afternoon, if you like.”</p><p>“Maybe you could give me the next one? That’s the bangle set, right?”</p><p>“That reminds me, we should stop at the DMV today,” Castiel said. He hadn’t forgotten his promise about that. He wanted Dean to be able to take Sam to his new school, on his own. He had every intention of following closely in his own vehicle, but he wouldn’t be able to give Sam a ride even. The little Alpha was at that completely touchy, vulnerable point where they could hardly be in an open space with another Alpha, much less in a private space like a car. “I’ve also picked out a car I thought might be nice for you at a dealership in Lawerence, but you’ll get final approval, of course.”</p><p>Dean’s eyes brightened at hearing that and Castiel understood. A car and license were freedom and he would give as much of that as he could to his beloved. Castiel understood that theirs was an inherently unequal relationship, in so many ways. He was older. He was Alpha to Dean’s Omega. He was rich to Dean’s poor. The only thing Castiel could think to do was to give Dean as much freedom and resources as he could. Resources that he would not be able to haul back on a whim either. He knew if only from his cousins’ families, that there were plenty of Omegas who had been given plenty and privilege by their association with the Alpha they mated, only to have the plenty disappear when the Alpha decided he wanted a younger, more fertile mate. </p><p>There was a chance that, given a car and license, Dean might just drive away from him. Dean had once, briefly, mentioned a family friend or uncle, Castiel wasn’t quite clear, that might take Dean in, if only Dean could get there. Castiel didn’t see that he could do anything but take that chance. He needed Dean to know that he could make that choice. That he could go to the uncle if he wanted to.</p><p>It was a puzzle- how could he share all he had with the Omega he loved without making it seem like Castiel was buying Dean’s love. How could he make such enticements while not making it seem like he was Dean’s only option? Was it truly a choice to mate Castiel if Dean didn’t have the opportunity to walk away?</p><p>Was there any way to make an Omega your mate and your equal at the same time?</p><p>Castiel didn’t know.   </p><p>He couldn’t do anything but try his best. </p><p>They were silent on their way to the DMV, then luckily, the lines were short this time. They were up at the desk before they had time to say much more. Castiel presented his previously prepared paperwork for Dean’s provisional license plate, including the insurance rider and the affidavits of intent to mate.</p><p>The county petty bureaucrat looked at him. “You know that since this is contingent on the Alpha father not objecting, that any challenge from the father will invalidate the license?”</p><p>“I am aware,” Castiel said. “We will deal with such challenges if they arise.”</p><p>Other than that, getting Dean’s license was a routine matter. Even so, Dean walked away from the office with his little plastic rectangle in an ebullient mood, grinning and laughing even, unable to stop admiring it and even the little picture of him on it.</p><p>“You gotta admit, I look good,” he said. </p><p>“You do indeed,” Castiel said as they got to his van. “You said your father had taught you how to drive on the country roads. Did you want to try now?”</p><p>So they settled into the van, in the seats opposite those they normally took and Castiel felt uneasy, but he clamped down on that feeling and kept what he thought was a calm, even placid expression on his face. Dean surprised him by being a far more skilled and smooth driver than he expected, as if he had a natural talent for it or a lot more practice than you would expect for an Omega to have. Castiel found himself relaxing for real as they took to the highway, Dean heading to the auto dealership that Cas directed him to. </p><p>Castiel had pre-arranged to see several cars, including a Prius and a minivan, but it became clear that Dean was not happy with his selection, though obviously trying to hide it, as if he thought he should be grateful for any kind of car at all. Castiel didn’t want Dean to be grateful and accepting. He wanted him to be ecstatic. He wanted Dean to have a car he loved.</p><p>“Perhaps you might have something a little more along the lines of a classic car in your used selection?” Castiel asked finally, thinking of the times that Dean had spoken longingly and enviously of a particular car from 1967 that his father owned and ‘didn’t treat her the way he should.’ Castiel wondered if maybe he should have been trying to track down a copy of that particular car for Dean instead of picking out practical, fuel efficient cars. Afterall, Castiel owned two such cars already, his van, practical for the long trips and a smaller, fuel efficient model he drove when he wasn’t transporting Dean.</p><p>“Ah, well, let’s see,” the salesperson said, looking through the computer. Then with a smile, she turned the screen to them and said, “Not here. This is sitting on the lot at our other location across town. We can have it sent to this location for your viewing tomorrow, or you go yourselves this afternoon. A 1970 Ford Mustang Mach 1. Top notch restoration. The owner of the dealership is a bit of a car collector. Having to let one of his go to make room for another gem, I’m sure.”</p><p>“We’ll take a look at that one,” Castiel said. “Please call ahead for us.”</p><p>So, less than an hour later, they were sitting inside a car, the old Mustang. Dean was in the driver’s seat and all but bouncing in excitement. It had taken a literal cash bribe to their salesman for him to allow Dean to be the one to test drive, even though Castiel had explained multiple times that this was to be Dean’s car. Dean gingerly put the car into gear and pulled it out of the parking lot, following the route prescribed by the sales person, though towards the end of their test drive, Dean turned the car left and onto the highway, not back into the dealership lot. He opened up the throttle and suddenly, they were going alarmingly fast, just for a little bit. The salesman opened his eyes wide and was about to complain, but Castiel looked at him meaningfully as he could. The salesman didn’t say anything. He had been convinced enough already about the benefits of a quick, cash sale for the full price as advertised on the windshield. </p><p>“Sorry, guys, just had to see how much she’d open up,” Dean said as he slowed to just exactly the posted speed limit, before making another turn that would lead them back to the dealership. </p><p>“I want you to be fully satisfied with your car, Dean,” Castiel said. </p><p>Once back, Castiel and the salesman turned to talk business, but not before Castiel caught Dean stroking the hood of the Mustang gently, and whispering to it, “Hey, I guess you’re going to be my baby now. Always gonna treat you right.”</p><p>So Castiel got to work, arranging for the wire transfer of funds, feeling pleased with himself that he had provided a car that Dean wouldn’t just find useful, but that he would love and perhaps maybe a car fast enough that it would feel something like freedom to Dean. Sale taken care of, Dean was able to drive the Mustang off the lot. Castiel was glad to be getting back to his little house out in the fields. He didn’t mind throwing money around if he had to, but mostly, he preferred his quiet life with the bees and the flowers. Money was a convenience. Money took care of things, but he liked money mostly for the peace, quiet and convenience it bought him.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0015"><h2>15. John Winchester Returns</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Castiel followed Dean back home down the county roads in the warm glow of the afternoon light. They pulled up to the driveway of Dean’s little shack. He might have just gone home and not bothered Sam at all, but the new things they’d bought for Sam’s school supplies were still loaded into his car. Castiel worried as he saw that a black car was parked at the top of the long, rutted gravel driveway. In front of the sad, busted down shack, two figures were at a standoff, one of them Sam, holding his ground at the top of the rotted stoop. </p>
<p>He’d dropped full fang and claw, eyes glowing with red Alpha anger. This was a young Alpha who was deep in territorial defense mode, no doubt unable to control himself, likely to kill or be killed. This was the moment you feared and the whole reason young Alphas were sent away. If Sam killed in this state, he might have to be taken down or at best, institutionalized because he’d gone fully feral.</p>
<p>The aggressor in this case was John Winchester, the boys’ father. He should have been able to come onto the property without so much as a challenge from the boy. Fathers should be able to control their Alpha sons, to some extent. But Winchester hadn’t been around, to hear Dean tell, in well over six months. More like closer to a year from the sound of it. He was not, to Sam’s inner Alpha, a father any longer, just some strange Alpha come onto the property, trying to invade.</p>
<p>The older Winchester was a little wolfed out, but obviously in an angry control. You could hear the deep sub tones of a growl and he’d dropped fang, but that was it. He thought he had control of the situation here, obviously. Castiel was pretty sure Winchester had no idea how close Sam was to launching himself at the throat. This could get ugly fast. Really, really ugly. Like blood and guts on the ground ugly.</p>
<p>“Get in the car, Sammy,” Winchester commanded. “We’re going.”</p>
<p>Sam just growled in response, words beyond him at the moment.</p>
<p>Castiel pondered how or even if he should intervene. While he had no doubt that he could subdue the young pup without hurting him much, even as near as he was to full feral and the older Alpha would be no challenge.  An Alpha coming between two hostile, territorial Alphas might find himself beset upon by both at once. That was a situation with far less likely a good outcome for him, in that either Winchester Junior or Senior was liable to end up dead. He was unlikely to be able to subdue them both without harm to either. Harming his family, especially the little brother, would lose him Dean almost certainly.</p>
<p>Before Castiel could act though, Dean did. He ran to the stoop and threw himself between the two posturing Alphas, with Sam at his back. What a strong Omega he was. Castiel could smell the calming scents from forty, fifty feet away. They were the only weapon an Omega had, really. An Omega didn’t drop fang or claw. Their scent, while calming, lacked dominance. Their voice had no command tones in it. They were physically weaker than an Alpha. The only thing the calming scent really did was promise love and care and be a reminder that an Alpha’s place was first and foremost, to protect the Omega. </p>
<p>Castiel stood by, watchfully. A false move on Dean’s part and the Alphas could tear him apart. If it seemed that would happen, Castiel would kill either or both of the other two Alphas, without hesitation, even if it would lose him Dean. Better lost than dead. </p>
<p>“You’re not taking him anywhere,” Dean said. “What are you even doing here?”</p>
<p>“I got the ungrateful little runt a place at school. A good one. At the Parris Island Prep. You tell him he gets in the car now. You get packing, Dean. Once your brother is in school, you’re coming home. Your mother is having another baby and she needs your help.”</p>
<p>“You think you’re sending him to the Pre-Marine Academy?” Dean said. Suddenly, the scent changed. This wasn’t the scent of an Omega trying to calm the conflict, make the Alphas all happy and content so everyone would be safe from Alpha aggression. No, the scent was acrid, sharp and angry. This was the scent of a mama Omega defending pups. This was truly frightening. Omegas flared too. Castiel had heard of it but had never seen it. Almost no one ever did, because Omegas wouldn’t defend themselves this way, but hurt an Omega’s pups and anything might happen. Dean’s eyes flared electric white-blue, something like a lighting strike. Dean turned to Sammy and said, “You go inside and you stay there until I tell you. Understand?”</p>
<p>Suddenly, the near feral, snarling teenager yelped and his hand somehow had gotten free from John Winchester’s hand. The pup, that was what he was at this moment, fell backwards from momentum. He scrabbled to his feet and retreated into the house, slamming the shack’s door so hard it seemed like the whole building shook on its foundation. Castiel relaxed some. With the little Alpha out of the way, this was a situation he could handle, if needed. However, he would see where Dean was taking this first, before he did anything. A three Alpha conflict was a known situation. But a situation with an Alpha and an Omega riled up to defend a pup? It was an unknown. A situation where Castiel had no context or expectations.</p>
<p>“You’re not taking him,” Dean said. “My pup got himself a scholarship to a good school and he’s going.”</p>
<p>“Your pup? You mean, my Alpha son,” John said. He made to move around Dean, head up the steps into the house where Sam had retreated, but Dean was in his way. “Out of my way, Dean. I will not be disrespected like this in front of my own house. Are you asking for a strapping? Because I will give you one. You may be eighteen but you are still my property.”</p>
<p>“No, I’m not. Not your property. You abandoned me. You abandoned us. More than six months since you even called and you think you can stroll in here and take my pup?”</p>
<p>“He ain’t a pup no more, Deanie. He’s grown enough he’ll be nothing but a cur until the Marines grind some discipline into him. Now get in the car and tell that pup to get in too.”</p>
<p>“No,” Dean said. Simply. Firmly. John started reaching for his belt, undoing the buckle and pulling. Castiel almost moved. He would not allow this unworthy man to harm his intended. But Dean said, “Try me, old man.”</p>
<p>And John hesitated. Then his fingers left his belt. </p>
<p>“Get in the car, Deanie,” John said, trying for persuasive this time. “Your mother’s having another baby and she needs you.”</p>
<p>“My mother is dead. Your wife can figure out her childcare situation herself. Not gonna be a wet nurse for some woman that can’t even stand the sight of me.”</p>
<p>“You’re lucky you have a chance to do that. What are you going to do with yourself? You got Sam into a good school, you say. Well, that’s good, but where are you going to go? Whore yourself out on the streets of Kansas City?”</p>
<p>Dean flinched, but he said, “I’ve got that covered.”</p>
<p>It was only then that John Winchester seemed even to be aware of Castiel. He turned around and seemed on the verge of a dominance display, this one aimed at Castiel. It looked like John Winchester was on the edge of writing himself a check he would never be able to cash. A lot of Alphas took Castiel for granted, wrote him off as a weak Alpha, one to be tossed aside easily in a challenge. They had no idea. Castiel took care not to make much of himself, to make his strengths be not obvious, to ignore all the little signals other Alphas made when they were itching for a challenge. He liked that they had no clue of what they might stumble into. He even hoped, briefly, that Winchester would launch an outright dominance attack, be the aggressor so that everyone would agree that Castiel had had no choice when he took Winchester down and that the man’s death was strictly self-defense on Castiel’s part.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0016"><h2>16. Bitter</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Yeah, it’s not Friday but updating anyway. I don’t think people will complain they didn’t have to wait a day....</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The man deserved it though, for what he was saying about Castiel’s beloved. Castiel took a step closer. Winchester stood between Dean and himself, otherwise, he would have stood in front of Dean, between him and the danger that was his father. As it was, he thought maybe he was helping, triangulating Winchester’s attention off Dean, dividing it.</p><p>“Who the hell are you and what are you doing on my property?” Winchester demanded. </p><p>If it were his property, Castiel might have stood down. As Castiel understood it, it was a leased property that had not had rent paid on it in at least six months. It was not Winchester’s property. He walked closer to Winchester, casually, as if just going to shake the man’s hand or something, completely ignoring his dominance display and it’s accompanying intense stench. In some ways, to remain unaffected by such a posture and scent was an even stronger display. It said that he thought he didn’t even need to bother with Winchester, that the Alpha was no threat to him at all.</p><p>“That’s my intended mate,” Dean said. He pulled the first of the traditional gifts from under his shirt- the deep emerald that so closely matched his eyes. He only pulled a hint of the chain out from under his shirt though, and very cautiously at that. If you showed off the pendant itself, there could be no doubt as to the value of the necklace. It was of such a quality that you couldn’t fake it. Even just the chain, at least to Castiel’s eye was definitely the real thing and valuable.</p><p>“You don’t mate without my permission, you little whore,” Winchester said, turning back to Dean. “You let him ruin you for a few gold-plate baubles?”</p><p>“He isn’t ruined,” Castiel said, though he was a little offended that anyone would think he’d give Dean gold-plated anything. “Nothing I or any Alpha could do could ruin a person as wonderful as Dean.”</p><p>Of course, John Winchester wouldn’t see it that way. An Alpha like that thought an Omega was something to be owned, tossed aside when it wasn’t of any current use, but that it had better be where it was left and in the same shape it was left in when he needed it again. Castiel pondered, briefly, the wisdom of seeing if Winchester could be paid to, as Dean would say, ‘take a hike’. Most people had a price, but Castiel also knew that people that could be paid off usually didn’t stay paid off, that they came back again and again looking for more. If they had any clue that money could be had easily, they would dig for it. He had that mercenary look to him, a hard meanness. </p><p>Castiel wished harder than ever that Winchester would make the first move. He kept a tight grip on his inner Alpha, not allowing himself to drop claw or fang, but feeling it ready in him, should it be needed. </p><p>“Maybe I did,” Dean said. “But maybe he’s done more for me in the last couple of weeks than you’ve done for me in years. If I let him ruin me, it’s because you left me alone. You abandoned me. You have no more rights to say a damn thing to me.”</p><p>“It didn’t have to be this way, Deanie. It was your choice to be out here instead of at my home with your mother and me. You just should have let me send Sam to school early. He’d have been better off in a school for young Alphas anyway. You don’t know what it’s like, trying to find the money to keep two households going.”</p><p>“So you left Sam and me to starve so you didn’t have to argue about money with that woman you married. You didn’t even call us. I’ve got nothing to say to you but goodbye.”</p><p>“You couldn’t possibly know what it’s like to have to make those decisions. You don’t know how hard I worked to find a place for my son, my Alpha son, at the right school. You’re just an Omega. An Omega that doesn’t know his place anymore. I could force you, you know. Bring you home against your will. Make you nurse my children like should be your place.”</p><p>“No, you couldn’t. Maybe you could kidnap me, but I’d leave first chance I get. Maybe you could stop me, but you know what happens to when an Omega is forced to nurse? The milk turns bitter. That’s the one thing that you can only get out of an Omega with love. You force me, my milk will be poison in your family’s mouth.”</p><p>Amazingly enough, Winchester backed down. Perhaps if only because he knew that was true. At that moment, Castiel felt truly humbled at what Dean had been willing to share with him. For his own side, he knew that what he felt for Dean was not transactional, but Dean must have felt more too. He was right. The milk could not be forced. It was something an Omega made only out of love or at least affection.</p><p>John’s mouth hung open for a moment, like an idiot’s, then he shut it. He obviously had no answer to Dean’s accusations. It was threat, what Dean had said, but one the Omega could obviously back up. Winchester turned away. Hopefully it would be the last they saw of him. Probably not, but now that Castiel had seen him in person and taken his measure, he thought he would be able to deal with any further incidents or help Dean deal with them. It didn’t take Winchester long to get to his car. </p><p>“Don’t expect me to come rescue you when he dumps you for a real Omega, a pretty one. An obedient one that doesn’t sass back to Alphas. If you have nothing to say to me but goodbye Dean, then it’s good bye for good. I’m not letting a ruined Omega like you back in to corrupt my family. Even if I find you hooking on the streets, I won’t take you back. You had your chance.”</p><p>“I’d rather turn tricks on the streets of Kansas City than nurse another one of your children,” Dean said. “But I won’t have to. So, get going. Sam is going to a school he picked and earned himself and I’m getting mated and you aren’t needed. You’re not family anymore and that was your choice.”</p><p>Winchester got into his old, rusted up car, slammed the door and he drove away.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>So, I know a lot of people are very invested in Castiel providing one very needed beatdown to John Winchester, however, it was very important to me that Dean be able to rescue himself from his situation. </p><p>However since the idea of John getting his comeuppance this way, I have started an epilogue where Castiel gets his chance at John.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0017"><h2>17. Everything Dean had fought for</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Dean didn’t let himself collapse until he saw the old Impala reach the end of the driveway and turn onto the county road. In the past several months since he’d had contact with his father, he hadn’t known how he would feel about seeing him again. There had been times when he would have done anything at all to have the man back and at least pretending to care again. There had been times when Dean had hoped that his dad would just stay gone, that the slow fade would have been how it ended. There were times where he’d been hoping for just this kind of confrontation, where he had his chance to tell dad exactly how he felt. </p>
<p>The stoop hit Dean’s ass as Dean’s legs gave out and every bit of energy and anger fled from Dean, leaving him flat and barely breathing. He wanted to cry, but couldn’t. He wanted to scream, but all of that rage had been expended. </p>
<p>They were safe though. Safe. For now. Dad would not be taking Sammy away to the pre-military academy. Everything that Dean had fought for had been won. </p>
<p>And Cas was still there. </p>
<p>He was there, waiting close by but not crowding Dean. He was waiting for a signal, Dean realized. An invitation. While the confrontation had been happening, Dean had been wildly aware of Cas, who had remained almost preternaturally calm and not wolfed out in the slightest. That was crazy. When you had a couple of Alphas wolfing out at each other like Sam and Dad had been, any other Alphas in the area kind of picked it up, just as a defense mechanism. Two Alphas about to struggle for dominance with each turned in Alpha melee pretty easily if there were any others in the vicinity. For Cas to stay removed from that wasn’t a weakness. It spoke to an Alpha strength that Dean could hardly imagine. More than the calm, it seemed that Cas had been exquisitely aware of all the currents of what was happening and poised on intervention, but reading his every cue from Dean. He would have followed Dean’s lead. Dean wasn’t sure how he was sure of this, but he knew it in his bones. </p>
<p>Dean was exhausted now though. An Omega shouldn’t have to do this. An Omega shouldn’t have to defend a pup like that from an Alpha who should have been the one defending. </p>
<p>“Cas? Can you get us out of here?” Dean asked. “I don’t know. I just don’t want to be here if my dad decides to come back. I don’t know. Maybe Sam’s school could take him early. We can’t stay here.”</p>
<p>“Of course. If not, we’ll get you and Sam a hotel room in the city,” Cas said. “Do you think you would be able to drive Sam? I would take you both, but I don’t know what kind of state he’ll be in.”   </p>
<p>“Yeah, I’ll be good in a minute,” Dean said. He had to be. He always had to be. Someone had to take care of Sam and it sure as hell hadn’t been Dad for a long time. Maybe once Sam was safely at school, he could relax for a while. An Alpha in a school placement was essentially launched and independent from the family. He hauled his exhausted, ready to collapse ass off the steps and walked into the house. Sam was in the kitchen. He had one backpack already packed, it looked like, stuffed to the point of almost splitting the zipper with clothes that spilled out of it. A shoebox that Dean knew was full of photos and other little mementos was sitting on the table next to it. Sam was stuffing food into a gym duffel. He startled when Dean came in.</p>
<p>“I’m not going with him, I don’t care what he says,” Sam said. “I earned my way to a good school. He should be proud of me. Why isn’t he? Why does he think I have to go be a Marine like him?”</p>
<p>“He’s gone,” Dean said. “You’re going to St. Carvers, not Parris Island Prep. We’re leaving for Kansas City now and we’re not coming back. You got everything you need from here? I got your uniform stuff in Castiel’s car.”</p>
<p>“Not getting in the car with that man,” Sam said, mulishly. “I don’t care that you think he’s nice. I’ll hitchhike to Kansas City.”</p>
<p>“I’m driving ya’, runt. Cas bought me a car,” Dean said. “Leave the food. We can buy more snacks later. Be ready in two. I just have to get some stuff for myself.”</p>
<p>“He bought you a car?” Sam asked, but Dean was already heading to his small bedroom and didn’t answer.</p>
<p>There wasn’t a lot to grab. His jewelry box. The picture of Mom, Sam and him from when he was little. From before. The knife he kept under his pillow. It was just a kitchen knife he’d found at a thrift store, but it was solid and he sharpened it up real good. There was a little address book. Mostly he’d written down the names of all the different schools Dad had brought them to, enrolled them for a while and then pulled them out later, to move, multiple times every year until Dad had brought them to this dump and left them here. It was like a diary of his life. There was the box of cassette tapes and the old Walkman from the thrift store to play them on. That was it, really. He was done here.</p>
<p>His clothes, mostly, were rags, not worth bringing with. Cas was always threatening to buy him pretty Omega clothes. Dean was going to let him this time. </p>
<p>They met up in the kitchen a moment later. Sam was trying to decide on one last book to fit into his bag. It just about tore him up inside, seeing his pup trying to cram his whole life into two small bags, knowing they were going to be leaving this ramshackle place forever in a moment. It might have been crappy and barely worthy of being called a house, but for a while, it had been home. Now they were leaving it all behind. Overcome with emotion, Dean pulled his brother into a hug and kissed him on the temple. His pup was heading out into the world. </p>
<p>“I just want you to know how proud of you I am,” Dean said. “You did good.”</p>
<p>Sam didn’t answer him with words for for several minutes, they stood there and Sam squeezed him back, tight.</p>
<p>Finally, he said, “I don’t want to leave you.”</p>
<p>“You gotta, Sammy,” Dean said. “Time to spread your wings and fly, Baby Boy. Go to Alpha school like all Alphas do. I know you’ll be okay. C’mon, let’s go. Daylight’s burning.”</p>
<p>He and Sam left the tarp covered shack with two bags each and the clothes on their back. Let John Winchester come and claim what was left, if he wanted to. Maybe the landlord would just throw anything they left in the trash. Dean pushed Sammy out the door and closed it behind them without locking it. </p>
<p>“We’re ready, Cas,” Dean said, hustling his baby brother to the new Mustang. </p>
<p>“Hello, Sam,” Cas said. “Dean, I took the liberty of calling St. Carver’s. They understand about these last minute Alpha struggles. They can take Sam in as soon as we can get him there and once Sam is matriculated, your father will not be able to remove him from the school.”</p>
<p>Once at the car, Dean rested his head on the cold metal and glass of the door frame for a moment, the exhaustion and adrenaline crash catching up with him hard. He could do this. He could drive to get them out of here and get Sam to his new life. He had to.</p>
<p>“You’re exhausted,” Cas said, concerned. “You shouldn’t be driving in this state. You should sleep and we’ll leave in the morning. I’ll keep watch overnight should your father return.”</p>
<p>“No, we have to get going. We have to get out of here,” Dean said, reaching for the door handle, but finding it hard to even get a grip on it. Sam was watching him, looking alarmed. He looked pretty exhausted himself, but going nearly feral like that was bound to take it out of a pup. </p>
<p>“Can Cas drive us?” Sam asked. “If I give my Alpha word to submit while we’re in his car, can you drive me to school, Cas? I don’t mean to be shitty to you all the time. I know you’re good to Dean.”</p>
<p>“I know, Sam. I understand. I was a young Alpha once myself,” Cas said. “I would be happy to drive you to St. Carver’s.”</p>
<p>“You’ll take good care of Dean for me when I leave?”</p>
<p>“The best that I am able,” Cas promised.</p>
<p>“Then you have my permission to mate him,” Sam said. “I mean, I know I’m not really Dean’s Alpha but I’m all he has and my word has to count for something, right?”</p>
<p>“Your blessing means more than you could know,” Cas said, holding out his hand to Sam, like an adult Alpha would to another Alpha, so they could shake hands. Sam was still cautious, reticent, but he took Castiel’s hand and shook it like a little man. Perhaps it was the beginnings of something like a friendship. Or Dean even dared to hope, like they might be family one day, if only because they both loved Dean.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0018"><h2>18. On the road</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Castiel relaxed once they were finally on the road back to the city. It had taken a little bit of time to arrange things, ferry Dean’s new car back to Castiel’s house, make room for Sam in the van and consolidate all the packages with his various uniform parts. Then spray a generous amount of odor neutralizer in the back, because it still very definitely smelled of the things he and Dean had done in there, things that Sam, for all of his acceptance, would not want to be thinking about. </p>
<p>Eventually, though, everything was taken care of and they were on them road, the setting sun at their back. Both Sam and Dean slipping first into quiet, then into sleep. Understandable. Both of them had just had an exhausting confrontation with their Alpha father. Castiel still didn’t understand what exactly it was that Dean had done, what combination of scent, posturing and eye flare had weakened the older Alpha, but Dean had definitely done something to affect him. You should never underestimate an Omega when a pup’s safety was on the line, Castiel thought.</p>
<p> As for Sam, Castiel well understood just how much it could take out of a young Alpha to go head to head with an older Alpha like that, to nearly get to the snapping point. Sam had written a big check to his adrenaline system and it was due now. </p>
<p>Both Sam and Dean were in a back seat together. It seemed safest to have Sam in the back and Dean close to him, though Castiel wished Dean were next to him, as he should be. Sam was curled up on Dean’s lap, like he was a much younger pup than he actually was. Perhaps not the safest thing for them to be without seat belts, but Castiel was not about to say anything. They needed their last hours of time together. It would be hard for Dean, Cas reflected, to have Sam gone. Dean had been relied upon too much and had become Sam’s mother in all but name. </p>
<p>Cas wondered if it would have been kinder, in the end, not to have taken care of his fertility, if he had ignored Dean’s stated wishes not to become pregnant. A new baby coming along certainly would keep Dean’s mind off missing Sam. The kind of pressures Dean had been under raising Sam certainly would not be a factor this go around. There would be plenty of money. Castiel wanted to be a present, active parent, if it ever happened. Dean would even be able to have paid help if he wanted it. Dean probably found it hard to imagine that his life would ever be easier, that he’d be able to afford as many pups as were wanted, easily. Sometimes, it sounded like even before John Winchester had actually abandoned them, that there had years where they were partially destitute. Most Omegas wanted several children, if the resources were available, but Dean had been raised to scarcity, so it was hard for him to accept abundance.</p>
<p>When Sam started to breathe heavier then, almost snore, Dean woke up. He gently slipped out from under Sammy without waking him and climbed between the front seats and took his place at Castiel’s side, where he belonged. </p>
<p>“You sure you still want to mate me, now that you’ve seen what kind of whackadoo my dad is?”</p>
<p>“Why would the actions of another affect my feelings for you?” Castiel asked. </p>
<p>“You know, the two years and a half years Sam and I lived in that shack were the longest we ever lived anywhere that I remember,” Dean said. He held up a little address book and flipped the pages, showing Castiel that it was mostly filled up with crossed out addresses. “This is all the different places we lived, all the different schools. I started writing them down because I’d forget where I was meant to take Sam to school. Sometimes, we stayed in a town just a couple of weeks. Pups aren’t meant to be hauled around from town to town like that. I don’t know why he could settle down for his new wife, when he couldn’t for us, you know? I guess what I’m saying is that I’m glad that I won’t be moving far. Just one address down the street.”</p>
<p>“You’ll be moving in then? Because I don’t want you to feel forced to move in right away just because of circumstances. You’ve mentioned your uncle Bobby, how he’d take you if you could get there. You know, you could now. You could take your car there. I would never stop you.”</p>
<p>“I know,” Dean said, softly. Then a moment of silence before he continued. “It definitely crossed my mind. I could go, but I don’t want to. I want to stay here with you. I want to complete our mating. I don’t think I’d even mind risking getting pregnant if you were around to do it with me.”</p>
<p>“Too late, for now,” Cas said. “I had the procedure I talked about. I had the test a few days ago to make sure it was effective and I’m officially at zero sperm count. I’ll get a reversal later, when it’s something we both want to try for, not now, when it’s something you’re willing to risk.”</p>
<p>“So you could, you know,” Dean said, quietly, as if afraid of waking Sam.</p>
<p>“Yes,” Castiel said. “It would be quite safe in that regard. I was going to tell you earlier but the time was never quite right.”</p>
<p>“Hot damn,” Dean said, grinning at Cas. </p>
<p>“Indeed.”</p>
<p>Castiel grinned back.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0019"><h2>19. Not Gone</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was well and truly dark by the time they got to Kansas City, enough though they were close to the longest days of summer. Sam, luckily, had slept through most of the trip, exhausted by his dominance display earlier, but as they were rolling down the expressway, crossing to the far side of the city where St. Carver’s was, Sam woke up. Startled and over tired, he didn’t seem to know where he was for a moment, which caused a fear reaction and he started growling, upset to be in the car of some other Alpha. Dean dove back into the back seat with Sam and he started willing himself to pump out as much of the calm scent as he could. “Please, little Alpha, calm down,” Dean thought to himself.</p>
<p>“Hey, pup,” Dean said. “Hey, just getting you to school, remember? The easiest way to get you and all your stuff to school was Castiel’s van.</p>
<p>Dean heard when you had to do the calming scent too much, like when the Alphas around you were the most dangerous, you could burn it out and sometimes, he wondered if he was getting to that point. He felt hugely guilty, but he was glad Sam was going to school. Someone else would soon be dealing with his wolf outs, his bad temper and his raging hormones. He’d no longer have to face getting asked for his milk all the time, when the pup was weaned months ago or his jealous fits. Dean felt so guilty. He should have been enough for Sam, should have been everything for him, but he couldn’t. He shouldn’t be happy to get the pup off to school like this, but he was.</p>
<p>“Yeah, sorry. I promised to submit to his authority while I was in his car. I’ll be good.”</p>
<p>“It’s not long,” Cas called from the front. “Maybe five more minutes from here.”</p>
<p>Not long after that, they slowed, turned down a street lined with tall trees and Castiel stopped the van in front of a big gate. Castiel negotiated entrance with the gate keeper, showing them Sam’s paper work and soon they were driving again, rolling slowly through a sprawling, green campus filled with trees and old brick building. It could have been mistaken for an Ivy League University. It was obviously everything Sam had ever dreamed about. </p>
<p>Dean wasn’t quite sure what he was expecting, but when they pulled up to the building they’d been directed, there was a whole squad of pups, young Alphas of various ages, all in the navy blue uniform with the gold crest on the pocket, lined up to welcome Sam, with an older Alpha boy, to direct things. Even outdoors, the Alpha musk was choking and thick, the reek exactly about what you’d expect from a crowd of dozens of teenage Alphas. </p>
<p>“Welcome to Pirrip House,” Sam was told. That was the name of his dorm and his school pack. These were the boys he would live with, go to school with, do everything with for the next four years, the way Dean understood it. </p>
<p>The older boy organized some of the younger boys to take Sam’s things up into the dorms and then, almost before Dean could get in one last hug with Sam, the young Alpha was borne away in a sea of blue blazers and starched white shirts. Dean had thought there would more to the leave taking, that he would get to see Sammy’s new room or get a tour of the place or something. No. Sammy was just absorbed into the pack of boys and was gone. </p>
<p>This was it. Dean had reached his goal. Sam was taken care of, at least to the point where an Omega couldn’t take care of an Alpha any longer. Every Alpha had to go off to one of these schools and find his way in the world. Sammy could only learn to be a good Alpha from other Alphas. Dean felt weak, empty and pointless as he watched his pup get absorbed, without a look back, into a sea of other boys, become one of their pack. Dean could feel his knees go weak, as if he were about to fall to the ground, but then Castiel was there with his arm wrapped around Dean’s shoulders, leading him back to the van. Castiel’s body was warm when Dean suddenly got cold. He was solid, strong and he seemed to know exactly what to say and what to do. It wasn’t even what he said, just soft murmurings that Dean hardly heard, but they were back in the van soon, driving away. </p>
<p>“My pup’s gone,” Dean said as they reached the gates, about ready to break down.</p>
<p>“Not gone,” Cas promised as they were out on the tree lined street again, rolling past the tall, wrought iron fence that surrounded the campus. Dean could see glimpses of brick buildings among all the green. “There are visitors days once a month and we will always go.”</p>
<p>“I know. I read the brochure. It’s just, he’s not my pup anymore, is he?”</p>
<p>“He will always be your pup,” Castiel said. “Just because he’s growing up doesn’t change that. Alphas always have a spot in their heart for the Omega siblings that raised them.”</p>
<p>“What about you? You have an oldest Omega sibling that helped raise you, right?”</p>
<p>Cas shook his head, as if remembering. “My eldest siblings were twins. Michael, an Alpha, and Lucifer, an Omega, but he wasn’t around to help with me. Something happened. Luci was sent away and nobody would really talk about what happened. Michael would get very angry when you asked about Luci, so I learned not to ask. I saw the pictures of him holding me when I was a baby, but I don’t remember Luci, not even a little and I don’t know what really happened. I suspect he had a mental breakdown. Our Omega mother died early and there had to have been tremendous pressure on Luci.”</p>
<p>Dean was silent. He knew well how truly could crushing the responsibility put on the oldest Omega child could be, both from the parents and the internal, biological instincts. He wasn’t surprised Castiel’s oldest Omega sibling had lost it.</p>
<p> “All my older Alpha brothers went to St. Carver’s,” Castiel said. “I remember visiting day when I was a young pup. We went every month to visit Michael when I was very young.”</p>
<p>“But you didn’t go?” Dean asked. “Did you decide you wanted something different?”</p>
<p>Castiel sighed. “Something happened in the family by the time I was ready to go to school. My parents were gone, my father died in an accident. Michael was in charge of the family, but there wasn’t money anymore or at least Michael said there wasn’t so I went to a pre-military. I haven’t seen any of my brothers since then. There aren’t visiting days in the pre-military.”</p>
<p>Castiel’s family was even more broken than Dean’s, sounded like. It occurred to Dean for the first time that by accepting the Alpha’s courtship and mating, they were forming their own family. Dean decided that one day, not soon, but after he’d had a while to rest, he’d give Cas pups, to complete their family. Not too many. The oldest son would be an Omega. That was how it went, but Dean vowed not to put a too heavy burden on his eldest, like had been put on him. It wouldn’t be surprising if Castiel’s Omega sibling had had some kind of a breakdown from too much of a burden. Most Omegas just struggled along but sometimes, some of them broke. </p>
<p>“How about we get a hotel room here in the city tonight?” Castiel asked. “I’m not looking forward to a long drive home in the dark.”</p>
<p>“No, I don’t want to stay in a hotel,” Dean said. He didn’t want to be in some impersonal space tonight, overlooking a vast world that he’d really had no part of. That suite they’d stayed in, where Cas had first proposed them mating, was beautiful but it wasn’t them. Dean needed to be someplace familiar, some place full of Castiel’s scent.</p>
<p>“Isn’t that one state park on the way back home? The one we went to that first time you drank my milk. Maybe we could park and spend the night in the van and see the sunrise.”</p>
<p>Dean remembered that night well. They hadn’t even properly fucked yet. Castiel and him had fooled around mostly. Castiel nuzzling at and nipping at Dean’s breasts had led to a little milk squirting out and then one thing had led to another, leaving Dean with emptied breasts and apparently, an Alpha he’d hooked for life. </p>
<p>“I’d like that very much,” Castiel said. “Perhaps we could stop at that one barbecue shack again? I remember their burnt ends very fondly.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0020"><h2>20. Off to Learn Victoria’s Secret</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>They’d ended up in the mall somehow, when Castiel had realized how little Dean had brought away from his home with him. They’d made a stop first, so that Castiel could get Dean snacks and supplies for the long night in the car and then the trip home in the morning. He’d realized, getting out of the car that Dean had brought only two small bags with him. Castiel usually packed more for a weekend away and he’d asked Dean if he wanted to make a last stop at his former home and Dean had just shook his head and mumbled about how there really wasn’t anything else left there.</p>
<p>Castiel had noticed the little mall near the grocery store and here they were, looking at clothes for Dean. He’d always wanted to take his Omega shopping for these kinds of things, but somehow it had never happened before. They ended up in an Omega clothing store. </p>
<p>Castiel held up a dress for Dean. Apparently some Omegas were wearing dresses again. The fashion regularly tipped back and forth between dresses for Omega or not and it was tipping towards again these days. Dean shook his head and scowled, so Castiel put the pretty, flimsy thing back on the rack. Apparently, there would be no dresses. He did not mind. He found a pink tunic he thought was pretty but thought better of it even before Dean looked his way again. Dean pulled a pair of very skinny pants off the rack. They looked sort of like denim, but extremely stretchy, like they would conform to his body, but they were also thick fabric, warm looking and sturdy. </p>
<p>“I like the look of those,” Castiel said.</p>
<p>“These would be painted on my ass,” Dean complained. “Everyone could see everything.”</p>
<p>“Well, it is a very nice ass, but I understand why you might not want it on public display,” Castiel said, though he was a little disappointed. Dean was so beautiful and it would be lovely to see him in something besides the scruffy, rough Alpha style clothes. Dean turned the corner of the rack so he was standing shoulder to shoulder with Castiel, looking at the same clothes. </p>
<p>“How about this?” Dean said, pulling a white shirt and a dark gray suiting vest from the rack. It looked like it would be very fitted when on Dean’s body. It would be actually quite conservative in some ways, but in others, quite revealing. It would be quite clear wearing the vest and shirt that Dean had breasts, in a way that his loose layers of tops had always concealed. There was a matching pair of pants to the vest that Dean grabbed too. He looked around for something else, but didn’t seem to find it. He put his hands on Castiel’s tie and slipped it out of its knot and stole it away to the fitting rooms before Castiel could protest. </p>
<p>A few moments later, Dean came out, wearing the vest and tie outfit. It was as Castiel hoped, fitted and cut in such a way that Dean’s Omega body was very unmistakeable. The tie was knotted very loosely around his neck, the shirt buttons open enough to give a suggestion of cleavage but not actually showing anything. The sleeves were rolled up, showing Dean’s forearms.The pants were fitted and close cut, but not painted on as the leggings would have been. Castiel couldn’t stop himself from whistling. </p>
<p>“Beautiful, Dean,” he said.</p>
<p>“So, maybe we get a couple of outfits like this so you have a pretty Omega to take out and then maybe just some more jeans that don’t have holes. You get some outfits to take me out in and most of the rest of the time, we’re just going to be gardening anyway, right?”</p>
<p>“Perfect,” Castiel said. “You are so lovely dressed like that, but still lovely in your plaids as well.”</p>
<p>Castiel bought out every shade of suiting vest and pants set the store had along with several new pairs of jeans, better fitted than what Dean was used to but still comfortably loose, the few plaid shirts the store stocked and several sets of soft knit sleep clothes. Then they found themselves standing in front of a lingerie store. </p>
<p>“Do you have some cash?” Dean asked. “I want to buy you a surprise. I mean, I know it’s not much of a gift if I buy it for me with your money, but I wanted to get you a little something. I think you kind of like how I look in this stuff.”</p>
<p>Castiel immediately took his money clip out of his pocket and handed it Dean, the whole thing. Hell, Castiel would buy out the store if Dean wanted him to. “Get as many things as you like. I’ll be waiting out here while you look.”</p>
<p>Dean looked at the thick fold of bills. The top bill was a hundred and there were probably several others of that denomination in the clip. Castiel didn’t keep track. Dean tried to give all but the top bill back, but Castiel wouldn’t take it. “You are, as you say, getting a gift for me. Please be generous,” Castiel said, tugging Dean closer by his new belt, pressing a light kiss on Dean’s lips when he was close enough. “Be very, very generous. I don’t spoil myself often enough.”</p>
<p>“Okay, I’m off to learn Victoria’s Secret then,” Dean said. “Hope you got a book or something. I might be a while.”</p>
<p>Castiel found nearby seating to wait. It took a while for Castiel’s erection to subside enough to be comfortable. Dean came out a long while later with several pink shopping bags and if Castiel wasn’t mistaken, looking perkier and more shapely inside his new vest outfit. Castiel stood up and when Dean approached, he tried to look inside the bags. </p>
<p>“It’s a surprise,” Dean said, tugging the bag away, but then offering Castiel his money clip back. it looked visibly depleted and of that, Castiel was glad.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0021"><h2>21. ‘Watching the Sunrise’</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I’m guessing this is the chapter a lot of people have been waiting for.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Dean thought Cas might knot him then, in the back of the van in the remote parking lot of the state park, as soon as they pulled into a semi-concealed spot, but he didn’t. They settled into the van’s bed together, but for the first time Dean had been in this bed, they just slept. They might have kissed a little but both of them must have been exhausted because Dean drifted off, more or less right away. He woke in the early morning as Castiel opened the back doors of the van. The cool morning air flowed in and the purple pink of the first hints of dawn was visible over the river. Dean was still wearing his new outfit, a little crumpled for having been slept in, but he had, like, ten more outfits in all of those shopping bags. That was just crazy to Dean. He’d never had this many clothes that he could remember, ever, much less dress clothes. </p>
<p>“Good morning, sweetheart,” Cas said, smiling down at Dean. Cas had sat up in bed to open the back door. His shirt was rumpled from sleeping in too, but at least he had taken off his suit jacket and tie. He’d draped them over the second row of seats before they’d fallen into bed with each other. </p>
<p>Dean grabbed the pillow next to him and threw it in Castiel’s face, then rolled over and hid under the blanket. There was a delicate shake on his shoulder. “What?!” Dean demanded. “Why’re you waking me up at the ass crack of dawn.”</p>
<p>“I forget how much of an angry sleeper you are,” Castiel said, sounding like he was in a good humor. Well, that made one of them. “You specifically requested we get up in time to watch the sunrise, remember? Here, this will make you feel better.”</p>
<p>Then Cas put a warm cup into Dean’s hands. It was one of those blue and white metal camping mugs and inside was a hot, fragrant liquid. Oh, yes, Dean thought. He hadn’t had any of that since the time he and Cas had stayed at that hotel in Kansas City. He didn’t make coffee for himself at home.</p>
<p>“Where did you get coffee?” Dean asked, mulishly, as he struggled to sit up in bed and not spill his coffee. Castiel looked over to the mini kitchenette thing the camper van had. It was like a single, narrow cabinet, that had a counter that was now lifted up to real a single burner stove and next to, a miniature sink. Under it, a tiny fridge. It was just enough of a kitchen to do a pot of coffee in. There was a little table that could pop up between the two second row seats. It wasn’t that Dean hadn’t seen this stuff before but other things happening in the van had taken his attention from it.</p>
<p>Dean wouldn’t want to live in here for weeks in a row, but it would be a really sweet set up for road trips, he thought. You wouldn’t have to cook all your meals on the little burner, but coffee in the morning, diners for lunch and dinner. A comfortable bed to sleep in at night. That would work. Make for a sweet vacation. He sipped his coffee as Castiel sipped his and Dean thought about what maybe they could do now that Dean no longer had to take care of his baby brother. </p>
<p>“We ought to go on a road trip sometime,” Dean said as the sky warmed up to a peachy glow, really pretty like. </p>
<p>“Would you like that? Where would you want to go?” Cas asked. </p>
<p>“I don’t know. Grand Canyon. Never saw the Grand Canyon. Mount Rushmore. Bad Lands.”</p>
<p>“I don’t think I’ve ever been to the Grand Canyon either. We’ll start planning our honeymoon trip whenever you’re ready.”</p>
<p>Dean thought he might get worried, even panic at the thought of completing their mating but instead all he got was a warm glow inside him. Dean took one last big sip of his coffee and set the coffee cup aside. “You know, someone promised me a nice big knot last night and he didn’t deliver.”</p>
<p>“I tried but you were exhausted,” Castiel said. </p>
<p>Dean unbuttoned the front of his new shirt a little, tugged the gray vest off and tossed it to the side. Then undid the shirt just a little more, so that a bit of his new bra flashed, visible in the v of snowy white cotton. The bra was shell pink and Dean tugged the shoulder of his shirt down on the right side so that the bra strap was fully visible. Castiel’s eyes were wide and his gaze was riveted on Dean, so Dean dropped the shirt a little more and then more, teasing Cas. Then, eventually the shirt was off completely and Dean sat on the bed in the bra and his pants. He could feel the courting gift necklace heavy around his neck, a visible sign of how much the Alpha valued him.</p>
<p>“You like the present I’m unwrapping for you?” </p>
<p>Dean knew the bra was beautiful on him, if only because the woman at the shop had exclaimed about how perfect it was. The lace was just the right amount of fancy detail, sheer, but with a lining that matched his skin tone pretty well, so it appeared to be a lot more sheer than it really was. There was a pretty satin bow right between his breasts. The woman at the shop had said it was the perfect balance of sexy and sweet. Dean, for once in his life, felt as beautiful was Cas was always telling him he was.”</p>
<p>“Fuck, Dean, you’re so beautiful.”</p>
<p>Castiel approached slowly, leaning in for a kiss, but as if he were afraid of scaring Dean or hurting him. Once he was close enough, Dean grabbed his Alpha by the shoulders and pulled him close, sealing their lips together and stealing a kiss. Robbing his Alpha of it. Not letting him go. Castiel’s lips were soft on his, a little chapped, but gentle compared to the way Dean wanted to plunder him, wanted to be plundered in turn. Then Castiel’s fingers stole slowly up to Dean’s shoulders and finessed a bra strap down Dean’s shoulder. </p>
<p>“Go ahead, unwrap me all the way,” Dean said, pushing himself a closer, so that they were touching chest to chest and he could feel how Castiel’s breath was heavy, deep. His chest was heaving. His hands were hot on Dean’s shoulders, then they dropped to Dean’s back, feeling for the usual clasp. A moment later and Dean was free of the lace, wire and elastic contraption. It was tossed off to the side and Castiel was kissing the side of Dean’s neck, working his way down to the valley between Dean’s breasts. </p>
<p>Dean’s breasts were tender, sore and full. They hadn’t had time for their usual games yesterday. Not that Dean needed to be milked every day, but if his Alpha was around, it built up and he got almost engorged. Castiel kissed the top curve of each breast as if they were each the most precious treasure. </p>
<p>“It’s for you, Alpha,” Dean said. “Until we decide to have pups, those are all for you.”</p>
<p>Castiel put his mouth on one and pulled and suckled. Oh. Yes. The long familiar feeling of milk flowing out, but also so not very familiar. So different when it was an Alpha that did this, like there was some kind of nerve connection right from nipple to pussy, but it was like a great big blanket settled over your mind and all you could think were soft, fluffy thoughts about how much you loved the Alpha and how much you loved what the Alpha was doing to you. Maybe it was an evolutionary trick of the body to keep an Omega wanting an Alpha, but damn it felt good.</p>
<p>As Castiel suckled, he tugged on Dean’s clothes, this way and that, until Dean was wearing only the pink lace panties that matched the now discarded bra. His fingers slipped until the elastic and pulled it aside. Cas slid a finger through Dean’s pussy lips, then deep into Dean’s cunt and it was like heaven to get suckled on and have Castiel’s skilled fingers work him over, driving him so close the edge, again and again, until Dean was quivering with need and smashing himself down on Castiel’s hand, trying to drive it deeper. </p>
<p>“So wet for me,” Castiel said, finally pulling Dean’s panties off completely. “So eager, my love. You’ve been waiting for my knot for far too long. Shhh. I’ll take care of you.”</p>
<p>It seemed to take forever, no matter how much Dean whimpered and sometimes outright begged, but Castiel took his sweet time stripping himself of his remaining clothes, then positioning himself between Dean’s spread legs. His cock was stiff, like a rod.</p>
<p>“You’re sure you want this?” he asked. “You want me bare inside you and to take my knot.”</p>
<p>“Yes,” Dean said. “For God’s sake, yes already. Get inside me.”</p>
<p>So Cas pressed forward and his cock easily slid into Dean’s slicked up cunt. They stared into each other’s eyes as he bottomed out. It was too wonderful, being filled up, it always was. There was that feeling of stretch at first, like he couldn’t be able to take all of Castiel but then everything just fell into place and Cas was just right inside of him. It was always like that, but this time it was better, knowing what they were about to do. Castiel perfectly fit inside him, like he didn’t belong anywhere else. Then he started to move inside Dean, his cock touching all the right places inside and a hand between them, rubbing Dean’s little cock, no longer teasing, but urging Dean on to higher and higher pleasure until there was no higher to go, until Dean was falling over that cliff, crying out and clenching, his body no longer his own but given over entirely to that moment and Cas was right there with him. Cas was thrusting harder, pace faster and faster, and as if he were powered from inside by some engine. He was gasping along with Dean and then he slammed in one last time and was still. Dean could feel himself stretch and grab, taking the knot that had always been denied to him until now. There was nothing between them and Dean could feel the warmth of Castiel’s come inside him. </p>
<p>They came back to themselves a moment later, breathing heavily. Dean couldn’t explain the joy that was welling up inside him and he certainly couldn’t explain the words that tumbled from his lips, not intended to be said, but definitely and definitively the truth.</p>
<p>“I love you, Cas.”</p>
<p>“And I love you, Dean.”</p>
<p>And they looked each other deep in the eyes and Dean found himself laughing, but if only because it was the only way that the joy that welled up inside him could find release. Dean was afraid a moment because what Alpha would want to be laughed at after that tender moment, but Castiel understood, because he grinned and wrapped his arms even more tightly around Dean’s body and squeezed. </p>
<p>Yes, life would be okay from now on.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0022"><h2>22. Welcome Home, Dean</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The time afterwards, when they laid together, tied up, had been glorious. Everything Castiel had ever hoped for, even though there were moments when it was exquisitely painful. The moment when they had to shift so that Dean could feel like he could breathe again had been the worst, feeling like his cock was going to be torn out by the root, but then they settled so that Dean was draped over his chests and the moment was perfect again, momentary pain forgotten. </p>
<p>Castiel wondered if one day, perhaps years from now even, they might make a pup together this way. He hoped so, that Dean would be ready for it some day and that his choice of birth control didn’t result in having the pup made in a clinical way with his frozen sperm. </p>
<p>For now though, it was bliss to lie here together with Dean, joined as if they were one.</p>
<p>As they laid together, the sky grew lighter and lighter, quickly changing from rosy fingered dawn to a pure blue morning sky, not a dot of cloud. It would probably be quite warm today, he thought. It was the middle of June, the start of summer, which in Kansas was long and hot. </p>
<p>“What would you like to do with our day once we’re done here?” He asked. </p>
<p>“I dunno. I thought we’d go back to your place and do whatever you want. Garden I guess. I got nothing on my plate for once. My pup’s gone.”</p>
<p>That brought a moment of sadness, Dean seeming to be on the verge of tears suddenly. It was probably the first time in many years where Sam didn’t have to be Dean’s first thought on waking and the center of his day. Maybe it would be a good idea to go on that road trip honeymoon first thing, to ease Dean into his new life. On a road trip at least there would always be the distraction of the new. The need to get miles under the tires would substitute for something to do. </p>
<p>“I know. I know, Sammy is in the best place for him,” Dean said, forcing a smile on his face. “I should be ready for him to be gone. Every Alpha goes to school.”</p>
<p>“That doesn’t mean you don’t miss him, Dean.”</p>
<p>“I should be happy. I got you, right? So, you got big plans for us in your garden this summer?”</p>
<p>“You only have to garden with me if you want,” Castiel said. “I don’t want to force my passion onto you. Perhaps you’ll find your own equivalent of a garden. I want you to find the thing that makes you happy.”</p>
<p>“What if all I was ever good at was taking care of Sammy?”</p>
<p>“I highly doubt that,” Castiel said. “You are the most caring, loving person I have ever known and that has brought me to life. You bring me joy. You just need to give yourself the time to find it for yourself. Now, for our honeymoon, is there any place else you want to see besides the Grand Canyon? I understand Las Vegas is not far from there.”</p>
<p>“We always said we’d go there together, me and Sammy.”</p>
<p>“Someday soon, Sammy will be graduating school and ready for the wider world. You could vacation with them then. If Las Vegas is something you would rather see for the first time with your brother, we can hold off on that. You can do almost anything you like now, Dean. Anything.”</p>
<p>“Maybe I should have just let you knock me up. Babies would keep me busy.”</p>
<p>“Dean when and if we have children, it should not be because you feel it is the only thing you can do,” Castiel said. “Or because you don’t know what else to do. You don’t have decide what you want to do with your life right now. Let’s go home and just be at home together.”</p>
<p>They didn’t talk much on the drive back home. Dean was ruminating. He would come around, Castiel thought. He wondered what wonderful things Dean might decide to do now that his first thought didn’t have to be the little brother. He hoped that Dean didn’t decide he’d made a mistake, hitching himself to Castiel’s somewhat stationary wagon. What an amazing person he was and Castiel wondered, if Dean wanted to leave their little home out in the country, would he follow. He looked at Dean looking out at the passing scenery and decided, yes, he would. </p>
<p>At last, they returned home. Castiel pulled his van into the garage. Cas carried all of Dean’s new purchases inside first, as Dean got distracted pulling some suddenly sprouted weeks from a bed near the garage. He suspected Dean cared for gardening more than he would care to admit, but eventually, Dean meandered to the front stoop. </p>
<p>“Welcome home, Dean,” Cas said, opening the front door to their little cottage.</p>
<p>“So, this is it,” Dean said. “I’m walking inside as your Omega for the first time.”</p>
<p>On a whim, Cas scooped Dean up into his arms, one under Dean’s knees, the other around his shoulders. Dean’s eyes opened a little in surprise, but he grinned, as if he hadn’t realized that Cas would be able to lift him so easily. He carried Dean across the threshold. Dean seemed to think that Cas would set him down in the living room, but Cas continued onward to his bedroom, a room Dean hadn’t been in yet. </p>
<p>They’d showered together in the bathroom and had a few, very enjoyable interludes there, but until now, most of their love making had been in the van. That would change, soon. </p>
<p>“This is real, right?” Dean asked, looking around at the small house. Castiel had done a lot of work on it, mostly by his own hands, mostly with Dean in mind. He’d repaired and painted and refurbished, always thinking and hoping for the day he could present this house, this nest to his Omega. “I don’t have to go?”</p>
<p>“No, never,” Castiel said. “This is your house too now. Welcome home, Dean.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Just the epilogue after this. Kind of makes me sad to leave this AU behind but I’m working on some other stories.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0023"><h2>23. Epilogue</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Because y’all wanted a chapter where Castiel provides John Winchester with a very needed beat down.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was several months, almost close to a year after their first meeting that Castiel finally had his confrontation with Dean’s father. He was walking through the streets of downtown Lawrence, running several important, but boring errands, meeting with his attorney, with his financial advisor. Dean hadn’t wanted to come on the trip into town. In the end, it was fortunate he hadn’t.</p><p>Dean liked staying at home. He had discovered cooking. The kitchen at the shack he’d lived in with Sam had been barely equipped, just a single pot mostly. Such cooking as he’d been able to do had been focused on stretching the food Castiel bought them and getting adequate calories into the mouth of a growing Alpha pup. Castiel’s kitchen was fully equipped and it took only the merest mention of some ingredient, utensil or appliance for Castiel to acquire it for Dean. Today, Dean was experimenting with candied bacon. Dean had mentioned wanting a smoker, to try his own hand at proper barbecue, so Castiel had been thinking about where he might best shop for one of those as he’d stepped out of attorney’s office onto the sidewalk.</p><p>Then suddenly, Winchester was there, right behind Castiel. He’d been stalking Castiel around Lawrence. Castiel had been well aware of it though he’d given no outward sign of that. It wasn’t the first time Winchester had stalked Castiel around Lawrence. Castiel had also seen him at the fringes of Castiel’s country property, not actually trespassing. He hadn’t bothered Dean or made any kind of public bother. Today apparently was the day Winchester decided to make his stand. </p><p>“You stole my children, you son of a bitch,” he shouted as Castiel whipped around.</p><p>There could be no doubt to anyone that Winchester had murder on his mind. His eyes flared bright red, both claw and fang were fully dropped. Winchester’s hand swiped at Castiel’s face, no doubt aiming for his eyes. Castiel simply stepped back, out of range, wanting any escalation to come only from Winchester himself.  Really, it couldn’t be any better a situation for this, on a public street. A little crowd of people had stopped to watch. Most people knew better than to intervene in an Alpha conflict unless strongly warranted. </p><p>“Hardly,” Castiel said. </p><p>The man had effectively abandoned them for months and emotionally for a long time before that. In any case, Sam was now the age where he would have been effectively independent from his father regardless of what school he attended. If anything, the man had a better chance seeing his son at St. Carver’s. There were monthly visiting days, should Sam permit Winchester to visit. If Sam were at the pre-Marine academy Winchester had picked, there were no visiting days or holidays. </p><p>As for Dean, well, a father who wanted his Omega to stay at home had best make a home where the Omega could stay. It had been a clear case of abandonment and Castiel would not, nor could not feel guilty that he had mated Dean without Winchester’s permission. </p><p>Winchester threw a punch, a right hook aimed at Castiel’s head. Castiel caught the man’s wrist in his own hand, ducked, twisted and then let the man’s momentum take him to the ground with only a little guidance from him. The man scrabbled back to his feet and launched himself at Cas again, seeing only blind rage, not how he was outclassed, how Cas hadn’t answered back in Alpha rage. This man was not worth the adrenaline toll wolfing out would take from Castiel. </p><p>He grabbed Winchester by the collar and threw him around, making sure that Winchester’s head got a good knock against the brick wall. They were about equally matched in height and weight, but some Alphas were just more Alpha than others, stronger for their size. Plus, the man might have been a Marine once but he was just an infantry grunt. He lacked the training that Castiel had at the Special Forces Garrison. Winchester was a little dazed, but that didn’t stop him from throwing himself at Castiel again. Castiel threw a punch and it landed on Winchester’s face, on the nose where it would hurt the most, then followed up right away with another, hitting his upper cheek, hopefully where it would shatter his orbital bone. Then another to the opposite upper cheek to give him matching black eyes. Winchester staggered for a moment but then rallied. He put his hands up and launched himself at Castiel, hands out. </p><p>Castiel came up between them, closed on Winchester, grabbed him by the collar again and threw him at the wall, as hard as he could without drawing on the werewolf strength that lay under the civilized facade of all Alpha men. He let his canines drop for just a moment when his face was inches from Winchester’s face, so the man would understand that it was fully in his control, that he had chosen not to use that, not that he was unable or lacked in any way. Then he drew them back in slowly.</p><p>“Go down,” Castiel said, holding Winchester up against the wall, his feet dangling a few inches off the ground. “Submit and we’ll each go our own way.”</p><p>Winchester just snarled and struggled, his clawed hands flailing uselessly, so Castiel threw him to the ground, then kneeled, straddling Winchester’s chest, one knee on each of the man’s upper arms, pinning him in place. He threw one last punch at the man’s face, connecting again with the already bloody and most likely broken nose. He heard the crunch of cartilage and knew that if it hadn’t been broken before, it was now. Then he put his right hand on Winchester’s throat, felt for the pulse of his carotid. Put his thumb right there and, in a display of exquisite control that few Alphas mastered, he popped out that one razor sharp claw. </p><p>He whispered just loud enough so that only Winchester would be able to hear him. “I could kill you at this moment and there would be no repercussions. There are dozens of witnesses to the fact that you attacked me in full fang and claw, from behind. My Alpha would just be defending against your Alpha. No one else but me would know it was done in cold blood. I would just as soon tear out your throat and let you bleed out right here but I know your death would make my mate unhappy, despite all you have done to him.”</p><p>To make a point, Castiel scraped his claw over the skin, just deep enough to make it bleed a little. Finally, Winchester did not fully submit, but he stopped fighting, stayed still and silent. </p><p>“Good, understand that despite that, if you come near myself or my mate again, I will end you.”</p><p>Entering the pre-military academy as he had and his service in the garrison had made him who he was and that cold, hard, dangerous core of a person still remained buried inside him, no matter what other choices he had made for his life since, no matter how hard he tried to be gentle and kind. He kept himself in such tight control as he did because he knew if he let that dangerous wolf rule him rather than serve him, he would be a man like Winchester, an Alpha that thought only of what he wanted, only of the respect he thought he deserved rather than the respect he had earned. </p><p>The police approached only after it was clear it would be safe to do so. Before they would have a chance to see, he retracted his claw and removed his hand from Winchester’s neck. The police carried hand cuffs thick and sturdy enough to withstand the brunt of an average wolfed out alpha. Castiel stood up as they came closer. </p><p>“Are you all right, sir?” They asked him. Castiel was fine. His knuckles would be a little bruised and there was plenty of blood on him, but it was not his. He was hardly out of breath though it had been some time since he’d trained for combat. </p><p>“I am fine,” he said. </p><p>“The witnesses say this Alpha attached you from behind, without provocation,” the officer speaking to him said. The watching crowd was still gathered. “Do you know this Alpha?”</p><p>“Unfortunately, yes. He is the father to my mate.”</p><p>“So he has some kind of beef with you?”</p><p>“I never gave my permission for you to mate him,” Winchester protested as he was hauled to his feet and his arms pulled behind his back. His nose was still bleeding and his eyes were already starting to blacken, his one eye swelling up. “He’s my son, not your mate.”</p><p>Castiel frowned and said, “He abandoned his Omega son completely when he turned eighteen and had effectively abandoned him for years before that. When we mated, he did not register a protest within three months or even within the additional three month grace period. Our mating has been cleared and certified by the family court. That’s why I was in town today, to pick up the final documents from my attorney.”</p><p>He picked up his leather satchel from where it had been dropped and pulled out the formal certificate of mating that he had received earlier today and showed it to the officer. </p><p>“Well, this seems to be in order, but we’ll still need you to come down to the station and give a statement about the incident,” the officer said, handing back the folder of legal documents. </p><p>“I would prefer he not be charged with anything if that’s possible,” Castiel said, not for his own sake, but for Dean’s mostly. “He has another family in another state with small children. And I believe we have come to an understanding.”</p><p>“Sir, an attack from behind like that in full fang could be charged as attempted murder,” the officer said. </p><p>“I’ll just call my attorney to meet me at the station,” Castiel said. It was not so much that he thought he needed it just to give a statement, but he didn’t want to be embroiled in this further than he need be. He thought it if he made himself a bother, they might be less inclined to prosecute Winchester to the full extent they could. The last thing he wanted was for Winchester to feel the perverse self importance a man like that would feel at an attempted murder charge. No, far more humiliating to have his best efforts degraded to misdemeanor disorderly conduct.</p><p>“We’re not charging you with anything, sir,” the officer said.</p><p>“I do have the right to have my attorney present when speaking with the police. Never mind, I need not call. Here he is now,” Castiel said as a shorter man in an all black suit with black shirt and black tie approached. His scruffy beard was disreputable looking, but he had never never steered Castiel wrong as far as legal advice went. </p><p>Crowley took in the situation, then pulled out his card, handed it to the officer, introducing himself, “Fergus MacLeod, attorney at law. I represent Mr. Novak here.”</p><p>Then, addressing himself to Castiel, “I heard a ruckus. Is this?”</p><p>They had spoken at some length, he and Crowley, about how to best deal with Dean’s father. He assumed with the stalking eventually the attack would come and it had. </p><p>“Yes,” Castiel said. </p><p>“Huh,” Crowley said, looking at the cuffed Alpha dismissively. After he sniffed at Winchester, Crowley said to the police, “You’ll be charging him with creating a public disturbance then? Maybe drunk and disorderly is more to the point? He does smell a bit pickled to me.”</p><p>Actually, Castiel was fairly certain that Winchester was not currently intoxicated. The smell of alcohol lingered around him, but it was a hard night of drinking before, not current drunkenness. However, all of the responding officers were Beta and therefore, their sense of smell would not be so precise as his was. Certainly, no one would actually want the bother of charging the man with attempted murder if Castiel didn’t want that, not when they could simply throw him in the drunk tank for a while. It would give an excuse for his behavior that would be acceptable enough. It was not that Castiel had any personal wish to keep John Winchester out of prison, but he did not want to be involved in any trial. He wanted Winchester out of their lives completely. He wanted Dean not to have to know what had happened today. It was soon settled. They took no more of a statement from him than they could get on the sidewalk, then they took Winchester away in a squad car. </p><p>“Perhaps you’d like to come inside and clean up?” Crowley asked when the police were gone and the small crowd had dispersed. Castiel looked at himself and his bloodied hands. There were some stains on his shirt as well. He could not go home to Dean looking like this, so he followed Crowley inside. </p><p>A short while later, he set out for home without having shopped for the smoker that Dean had been thinking about. There would be time later for that. He needed to get home to his Omega, needed to be home with him after the altercation. The drive from Lawrence to his home seemed to be endless, the prairie stretching out before him, mile after mile. Mostly, he loved being far out in the country, but moments like this, he wondered at his decision.</p><p>Dean was sitting at the desk they’d set up for him in the living room, working his way through the GED study guide. He had, just a few months ago, convinced Dean to pick up his education again. So many Omegas, like Dean, had been pressured to drop out of school to take care of their younger siblings, not completing high school, in some cases, not even starting it. He hoped, for Dean’s sake, that he might discover something he wanted to study further, maybe going on to a college degree. Not that he wanted Dean to train for a career, unless Dean decided he wanted that. Dean was naturally intelligent and had had so little chance to express it before, had been told so often that his only use was to take care of Sam. Not that study was easy for Dean or came naturally, but when he learned something, he mastered it.</p><p>Once he realized Castiel was home, Dean dropped his book and launched himself at Castiel. His gold bracelets jangled softly has he threw his arms around Castiel’s neck and then pulled him close for a kiss, then a gentle, but thorough scenting. Somehow, in all of that, his eyes lit on Castiel’s hands, on the bruises that had already started to bloom on Castiel’s knuckles. </p><p>“What happened?” Dean asked, as he held Castiel’s hand tenderly, examining the bruises. “You aren’t the kind of Alpha that gets into fights with other Alphas.”</p><p>“Some Alpha on the street thought I had disrespected him and taken something from him. He was wrong, of course, but I did have to defend myself,” Castiel said. “I would never start a fight, but I have a duty to you to defend myself if an Alpha comes at me.”</p><p>“You’re okay? You didn’t break anything in your hands, did you? Looks like you hit that Alpha pretty hard,”</p><p>It always surprised Castiel just how much Dean seemed to know about fighting and self defense, how naturally fit he seemed to be now that he was getting adequate food all the time. Dean had put on more muscle than Omega roundness. He’d even grown a little in height. It was unusual in an Omega, but not unwelcome. If anything, it made Dean more attractive to Castiel. Dean was no longer the skinny, almost frail Omega he had been when he came to stay. Castiel had regrets that he hadn’t made Dean take more from him during their early days together, that he hadn’t insisted on it.</p><p>“No, beloved,” Castiel assured him, grabbing Dean’s hands in his own and pulling him close for another kiss. “I was fine, though I am better for coming home to you. How did your candied bacon come out?”</p><p>“It’s awesome. I even saved some for you,” Dean said, grin bright and happy. </p><p>“Wonderful. I look forward to it,” Castiel said, then pulled the folder out of his satchel. “I brought home our official mating papers. We’re past the point where your father could protest. All officially registered. The only thing left is for you to let me give you the final of the nine gifts.”</p><p>“I guess there’s no reason to wait,” Dean said.</p><p>“Unless you want a wedding,” Castiel said. “I understand Beta style weddings are becoming very popular with Alpha and Omega couples.”</p><p>Dean frowned, “Can’t say that I ever wanted that. Not like we have anyone to come see it.”</p><p>Castiel could see Dean’s point. Dean knew now that Castiel was estranged from his siblings. He had his various cousins and many of them would dutifully come if invited, but it would not make him happy to see them there. As for Dean, there was no remaining family except Sam, who would not be released from his school the first year for any reason, not even a family wedding. Bobby would come, grumbling about it the whole time. He couldn’t imagine Dean wanting anyone from his family there but Sam and Bobby. </p><p>“I just wanted to give you that option if you wanted it,” Castiel said. He wandered down the hallway to their room. </p><p>It hadn’t changed much since Dean had moved in, but the night stand on Dean’s side of the bed had a handful of framed photographs- Dean and Sam, young Dean, almost a toddler still, with a lovely blond woman- Dean’s mother Mary. Even a small photo of young Sam and Dean with the elder Winchester on the hood of that wreck of a car he drove. </p><p>Castiel dug around in the dresser drawer where he kept gifts hidden for Dean. Yes, all but one of the traditional courting gifts had been given and accepted, but there were still many other, pretty, sparkling pieces he had picked out for Dean. His hand found the small velvet box he was searching for. A diamond ring was the traditional last gift. He had picked out the style they called an eternity ring, with emerald cut diamonds all around the band. He opened the clamshell. Yes, it was as he remembered it when he’d bought it, actually the first of the traditional gifts he’d bought, even before the emerald necklace. He’d been certain that Dean was the one for him, the one that would be his mate, even if he’d been uncertain that the nervous Omega would hold still long enough to let himself be courted. </p><p>He returned to the kitchen. Dean was looking out the window over the kitchen sink and said, “You know, I was thinking, this summer, we might expand the garden. Maybe try some fruit trees. Apple trees maybe? Wouldn’t it be awesome to grown our own pies?”</p><p>“Of course,” Castiel said. “We will grow our own apples if you would like. There’s a spot down by the fence line that I’ve thought would make a good place for an orchard.”</p><p>Then, he opened the little velvet box with the ring inside and held it out to Dean. “Dean, would you make me the happiest man in the world? You already have, but  I want everyone to know how much I treasure you. Life has been so wonderful since you came into my life.”</p><p>“Of course I’ll wear your ring, Cas. As if there was ever any doubt.”</p><p>He held out his left hand and Castiel pushed the ring onto Dean’s finger. Their mating was complete and their life together would only ever get better. </p><p>END</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>So, that’s it. I can hardly believe it. I actually finished a fic that I posted in chapters, which is not something I have a good track record with. I am working on something new that I hope to be getting up soon.</p><p> </p><p>If you enjoyed this story, please consider reading my current work in progress, “His Aim Was True”. FWIW, I only leave comments open on the story I’m currently updating.</p><p> </p><p>  https://archiveofourown.org/works/30115062?view_full_work=true</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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